


Just Press Play

by CreateAnInsaneWorld



Category: The Internship (2013)
Genre: College was rough when she was sixteen, Drug recovery, F/M, Graham is a tool, He's trying but he kind of sucks at feelings, Lyle has a sister named Maya, Lyle loves his sister, Maya is also super smart, Mentions of drug addictions and sexual assault, Multi, Neha is kind of bitch in the beginning but she gets better, She has a dark past, Stuart doesn't know what to make of her
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2018-08-28 19:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8460415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreateAnInsaneWorld/pseuds/CreateAnInsaneWorld
Summary: Maya Spaulding, a third year Googler, loves her job and she loves her brother, Lyle, a fourth year Googler. She doesn’t, however, love her creep of a department head at Play nor does she love the intern program. Overbearing and pompous interns are:A) trying to get into her pantsB) chatting her up for a good wordC) bothAnd when Lyle tells her about the two charity cases, she just knows that this is going to blow up in his face as a first year manager. She wasn’t however expecting to actually like his team, especially not Stuart Twombly.





	1. 00000001

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely love this movie because it combines two of the favorite thing: the amazing comedic duo of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson and the attractive and amazingly talented Dylan O'Brien.

_I hate Mondays_ , she thought to herself as she stalked into the building. Her head was pounding and the world around was slightly spinning. She paused and took a deep breathe; the seductive aroma of coffee filled her senses. Turning, her eyes landed on the café. Her mouth watered at the sight of the caffeinated beverages.

“Rough night?” A light and familiar voice asked.

Without sparing them a glance she responded, “Fun night, but rough morning.”

“Oh?”

“I drank way too much last night, Marielena.” She told her best friend, who laughed softly.

“I know. I was there.”

She couldn’t take it anymore, she needed to have one or she would either die a slow, agonizing death or end up killing someone. She probably wouldn’t do well in prison and like hell would she be someone’s bitch. Plus orange is so not her color.

“And why didn’t you stop me?” She moaned agonizingly as she started towards the café.

“Because I was a little busy working.”

She flinched as she remembered that little detail. “Right.” She paused as a thought came to mind, albeit painfully. “Do you co-workers think that it’s weird that I show up every weekend? I mean it’s not like I’m gay or anything. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I’m straight as they come and people there probably talk and wow the room is spinning very much right now.” She reached out quickly to brace herself on a chair that was nearby.

“You okay?” Marielena asked worriedly.

“I think so. Just used to many words.” She mumbled as her equilibrium came back to her.

“Do you need anything?”

“Coffee.”

She heard her friend make a disapproving noise in the back of her throat. “You know you can’t have it.”

“But-but Mari! I’m dying here. If I’m going to survive work today and Lyle freaking out about choosing the interns I _need coffee_.” She stressed out finally turning to her friend.

“And Lyle will kill me if I let you have coffee.” Marielena pointed out and she huffed knowing that she was right. He would kill her despite having the biggest crush on her.

“Who says he has to know?” She was whining and she honestly wasn’t ashamed to admit that at least right now. No doubt once it felt like her head wasn’t going to implode, she probably would be embarrassed.

“Jake would tell him.”

She cursed, “He had to tell him not serve me coffee since we found out.”

“He’s worried about you.”

“I know.” She said reluctantly eyeing the sweet nectar that was stilling calling out to her. “Find I’ll get a hot tea.”

“Good choice.”

She glared at her friend, “I hate you.”

Marielena grinned at her, “I love you too.”

“Don’t you have dance class to teach?”

“Not for another hour, but I should get ready and warmed up. I’ll see you for lunch?” She asked, and she had to carefully think over her schedule for the day.

“I don’t think so. I have a meeting with my department head. He wants to go over a new layout for Play and it might run late.”

“I don’t know how you deal with him. He’s a creep.”

“Yeah, but what can I do? That’s where I want to be and if I have to deal with a slightly pervert boss then so be it.” She explained seriously as they arrived at the counter. “I’ll have a hot tea with honey, two lemons, and a Splenda, please.” She glanced over the pastries. “And a toasted bagel with cream cheese.”

“Does Lyle know what’s going on? I’ll have mixed berry smoothie and a warm blueberry muffin, please.”

She let out a curt laugh. “God, no. Can you imagine how he would react?”

“He’d tell your mom.”

“After getting himself hurt for trying to protect me.”

“He’s your older brother, sweetie. That’s what they do.” Marielena said knowingly.

She rolled her eyes, “And as much as I love him for it, it’s none of his business.” She grabbed the drink and bagel from barista. “Thanks Jake. I’ll see you guys later.”

With that she left.

Taking a drink of her tea, she thought over what Marielena said. Logically, she knew her friend was right and that she should tell Lyle or someone what was going on and on several occasions she almost had, but then her mother’s words from this morning echoed into her head.

_Just leave well enough alone, Maya. You won’t get anywhere by causing unnecessary trouble. Why won’t you leave that god forsaken building and find a nice young man? You’re not getting any younger and you’re my only hope for grandchildren._

She repeatedly pressed the elevator button to release some tension from her body as her own words sprung to mind.

_Because I love my job and I’m twenty-one years old. I’m a little young to worry about a family right now. And if Lyle would get off his ass and ask Marielena out then he could give you grandchildren. Now if you excuse me I have to get ready to go to that god forsaken building. Goodbye, mother._

She slapped the button as the door opened and she was thankful that no one was entering with her. She sighed tiredly leaning her side against the wall of the elevator, her finger hovering over the button to her floor before pushing a completely different one.

She had a brother to kill.

* * *

“Lyle Marcus Spaulding!” She shouted as she entered his office.

The man in question jumped, surprised at the sudden noise. Spinning in his chair, he flinched at the sight of his sister staring down at him with murder in her eyes.

“M-Maya! What are y-you doing here? Sh-should you be in your office?” He stuttered over as he stood up.

“Did you even come home last night?” She asked her brother already knowing the answer.

“La-last night? N-no I didn’t. Uh-why?”

“Because mom called this morning wanting to talk to you, but no! You couldn’t have been bothered to come home, so guess who had to deal with her overbearingness? That’s right me!” She snapped making him cringe both in fear and sympathy.

“I’m sorry, Maya. I was doing some last minute things for the interviews today.” He told her causing her to deflate as she moodily sat down on the couch that was in his office.

“She pulled the _‘why don’t you find a nice young man’_ card.” She said bitterly as she pulled her feet up and lay back down. She sighed happily feeling the cushions form to her body.

Lyle had the best couch ever.

“You’re twenty-one not thirty. You have plenty of time to find someone.” Lyle reasoned.

She moved her head back to look at him with a doubtful look on her face. “You’ve met our mother right?” She asked sarcastically. “She also said that I’m her only hope for grandchildren.”

“And this is why we don’t go visit for the holidays all the time.” He pointed out, turning back to his computer. Guilt welled up in her chest. She hated that their mother was always putting them down for something; if wasn’t for her choice of career then it was Lyle’s lack of love life.

“You know you could always just ask Marielena out and see what happens.” She told him softly.

He tensed at her words; jaw tightening as he determinedly stared at his screen. “Lyle, she might just surprise you.”

“She doesn’t know who I am other then I’m your older brother.” He informed her blandly.

She shook her head; wincing at the pain it brought her, “That’s not true.”

“The only time we talk is when she’s informing me on when you veer off on your diet.”

She rolled her eyes, “Fine. Whatever. I better get to my office.” She said standing up; she finished off her tea, tossing it in the nearby trash can. “Will you be home tonight?” She asked making her to her brother.

“Yeah. I’ll pick up dinner. Thai sound good?” He asked looking up at her, his head tilting back.

She poked his forehead before leaning down pressing a quick kiss. “Torchwood marathon?”

He grinned, nodding in agreement, “Awesome.”

“I’ll see you tonight.”

* * *

“Wait-so you convinced them to allow two forty-something men with absolutely no skill in coding or anything computer related to become interns, how?” She asked incredulously as she snuggled back into the cushions with Captain Jack Harkness on screen and a container of Lime Chicken Stir Fry in her hand.

“I pulled the diversity called.”

She let out a laugh while nodding in appreciation, “Nice. So, you do know that this is most definitely going to blow up in your face?”

“Oh, I know.” He said after having a bite of his Baked Salmon in Red Curry Sauce.

“But it should be interesting.”


	2. 00000010

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The interns arrive at Google! While dealing with a coding issue, she gets hit on and accused of something by two certain interns.

**One Week Later**

Maya, Marielena and Lyle stood on the second level, staring down at the mass of interns, who were looking a mixture of loss, excited and nervous. Maya’s blue eyes roamed over the sea of newbies with a distant expression on her face before landing on two people, who really didn’t belong.

She nudged her brother with her elbow. “Found the charity cases.” She told him softly, watching as he zeroed in on them as well.

“This is so going to end badly.” He muttered dejectedly. She patted his arm sympathetically.

A ping from her bag stopped her from saying anything. Grabbing the tablet, she clicked on the new message icon.

Her blue eyes roamed over the screen before a scowl settled on her face.

“Fucking useless newbies.” She muttered darkly as she tapped out a quick message.

“Problem?” Marielena asked both her and Lyle’s eyes watching her in concern.

“A first year just screwed up the programming for the new layout. Parsons wants me to fix it.” She explained, pushing away from the railing. “I’ll see you guys later.”

She walked away, her eyes going back to the tablet as she pulled up the program that she had been working on for the past month. As the familiar coding appeared on her screen, she walked down the stairs passing one of the older interns her brother was talking about and Dana, an executive that has always been nice to her.

“I’m Nick Campbell.” The blond man said with a slight southern accent.

“Dana Simms.”

She didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, but she knew Dana well enough to know that she blew him off.

Maya was right in the middle of reviewing the code when it happened.

She will be the first to admit that when interrupted, she could get a little mean. Or a lot mean if asking her brother. She would rant and curse the person to the next millennium that they would be so terrified that they would stay away from her for the next four months and even once they started talking to her again they kept a fair distance from her.

Poor Sid still won’t look her in the eye.

So, when someone deliberately stepped into her path way, she’s not surprised that she flipped out, but she handled it better than most days.

Clutching the tablet to her chest, she stepped back from the person she had walked into. A scowl once again appearing on her face as she looked up at the person.

It was a male around her age. Light brown skin and dark brown eyes that were leering down at her and what apparently was supposed to be a charming smirk on his thin lips. He was wearing a pair of gray slacks with a cream button up and a gray blazer. He was even wearing that ridiculous pinwheel Google hat on top of his black haired head.

Just the sight of him made her want to hit him.

“Pardon me love. Wasn’t watching where I was going.” He said with a soft British accent.

She was able to stop herself from rolling her eyes. “I’m sure. Now if you would excuse I’m late.” She tried to step around him, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“The meeting isn’t starting for another five minutes. Maybe I could escort you?” He asked charmingly. She smiled a little smugly at the fact that he thought she was here for the internship.

“What college are you attending?” She asked him randomly.

“Georgia Tech.”

“And you’re majoring in Computer Engineering, right?” She asked, seemingly curious.

“How’d you know?”

“You seem the type.”

“Really? Well, if we’re going to be honest then you don’t seem like the type to be here for an internship.” He noted, “You look like you should be modeling as you are very beautiful.” He told her charmingly. This she rolled her eyes at.

“Well I’m not here for an internship.” She confessed, “I’m here for work.”

He looked startled at the information. “I-I’m sorry?”

“I work here. Third year Googler at your service.” She announced brightly as she watched him stared at her stunned.

“But-but you’re my age. How can you be a third year?”

She looked up at him in contemplation, “I think it’s called graduating high school earlier and going to Cornell at the age of 16. Now if you would excuse me I have to go.” This time she was able to make it around him, but again he stopped her.

“I’m terribly sorry the mistake, miss. I just assumed…” He trailed off like he was uncertain. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before whipping around.

“I know what you assumed. You thought you could charm your way into my team and into my pants. Just a heads up being a kiss ass to every Google employee isn’t going work here. Now I really do have to go because you just made me even more late to clean up some first year’s mess. So I would suggest that you. Back. Off.” She snapped at him before turning back around and making her way to where Parsons wanted to meet.

It would be where orientation would be held.

Weaving through the sea of interns, she was able to spot her boss talking to Chetty, Head of the Intern Program.

She bumped into someone side again and she muttered a quick apology glancing up to see a boy engrossed in his phone. He was wearing that ridiculous hat that was covering his chocolate brown hair and had a pair of thick black rimmed glasses that would look dorky on anyone else, but seemed to actually work for him. He was wearing a dark blue button up with the top button undone. He was cute, really cute actually.

He didn’t even spare her a glance as he walked to take a seat. Shaking her head, she brushed off the past five minutes and finished making her way to her boss.

“Mr. Parsons?” She called out as she stepped up on to the platform. “You wanted to talk to me.”

Both men looked up at her when she approached.

“Ms. Spaulding, coming to see the new interns?” Chetty asked politely. She smiled at him, having always found him amusing in his mannerisms for some reason as she shook her head.

“Not this year. Don’t want to take the spot light from my brother as his first year manager.” She told him lightly.

A look of understanding settled on his face as he glanced over to where Lyle was now sitting on the couch between Jason and Sarah. “Yes, well he’s already making an impression.” He told her blandly no doubt referring to the two older interns.

“Maya, we’ll have to talk after orientation.” Her boss, Julian Parsons, said as he pointed to an off to the side, where other Google employee were lounging. “Why don’t you take a seat over there and we’ll discuss the issue once we’re done?” He asked as gave her a quick look up and down. She resisted the urge to wrap her arms around herself, thankful she was wearing layers today.

“Of course, Mr. Parsons.” She said respectfully. Giving a parting smile to Chetty, she turned on her heel and walked over to the side.

She stood between two employees who work in Google Trends that she frequently dealt with.

After saying a quick hello, she went back to her tablet hoping to get a little work done as the familiar words of the opening meeting washed over her.

“My name is Robert Chetty and I am the head of the Google Intern Program. Welcome to Google. This will not be your average internship. Oh-no. You will do what we do and _we_ will watch how you’ll do it.” He paused for a short moment and Maya looked up from the coding to see that the Noogler, as Sid liked to call them, watching him in rapt attention.

Her eyes scanned over the group, first catching the older men. She shook her head slightly still not knowing how they actually bullshitted their way here before they lowered and went to the right a little where Cute Phone Guy was.

She eyed him and as if feeling her stare, he glanced over to her. He seemed startled as their eyes connected and she didn’t have to be close to know that his eyes had widened slightly. She smirked to herself as she turned back to her tablet.

“Now you represent the finest schools. Your intelligence, your achievements are well noted, but to excel at this internship you’re going to need far more than brain power. What you are going to need is _googliness_.”

The laughter that followed had her glancing back up again and shaking her head at the Noogler’s. _If only they knew_ , she thought as her eyes caught something on her screen. Her fingers rushed over as she finally caught one of the problems that Henry had apparently made.

“Nothing funny. Googliness. The intangible stuff that made a search engine into an engine that changed.”

It was silent again and she knew that they were practically hanging off his every word.

“Now you’ll be divided into teams and by the end of the summer only one team will be guaranteed a full time position. The other 95% of you will not.”

She mentally winced at the harsh reality of the competition.

“Now you’ll split up into several seminars to acquaint you with our campus and culture. The seminar descriptions have been emailed to each of you. I would wish you luck, but it’s not luck you need. Get to work.”

Raising her head as the interns stood up and rushed out, checking their email as they went. Looking around, she was disappointed to see that Cute Phone Guy was no longer in the room. She had hoped to at least grab his name.

“Maya?” She looked up at the sound of her name and plastered on a smile for Julian. “What have you found out about the hick up in the programming?”

Glancing down at her tablet, “From the looks of it was just a mistake in the formatting and coloring. Nothing to major that I couldn’t fix, but I’ll continuing going over it to double check.” She informed him.

He nodded seemingly happy with what she told him. “Perfect. How about we grab some lunch? Throw around some new ideas for some apps.” He suggested causing her to stiffen.

She gnawed on her lip, “I would Mr. Parsons, but I promised Lyle that I would eat with him today. We were going to talk about our mother’s upcoming birthday.”

“Right. Of course. Maybe some other time.” He said. She didn’t say anything as she gave him a tight smile.

“I better get back to work.” She ended their conversation. He nodded in agreement and left her standing where she was.

Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she looked around to see that she was alone in the room. Walking forward a little bit she unceremoniously sat on the bench, carefully setting the tablet down next to her.

“I’m so fucking screwed.” She muttered to herself.

“Sleeping with your boss? Yeah, I would say so.” An unfamiliar voice said from behind her. Shrieking, she stood up, spinning around only to come face to face with Cute Phone Guy.


	3. 00000011

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya sets Stuart straight about some things and helps out Chetty with the seminars. Also a look inside Stuart's head.

She choked as his words registered in head. “I-I’m sorry?” Because no, he couldn’t have actually said that to her, insinuating that she would sleep her way around.

“You heard me. That how you got your job here? Slept with him and he took an interest. Probably wanted you around for convenience.” Cute Phone Guy profiled. She now had to make a new name for him. Asshole seemed like a good one. Or Dick.  
  
“You don’t know anything about me.” She retorted and she paled slightly at the disgusted smirk that appeared.  
  
“But you didn’t deny it.” He pointed out. She huffed grabbing her tablet before stalking towards him.  
  
“You probably wouldn’t have believed me otherwise.” She snapped at him. She turned the screen so that he could see it. He gave it a glance before returning his eyes back to her. She sucked in a breath at the whiskey color.  
  
“It’s a formatting code, so?”  
  
“For the Play Store as known as the department I work in. I worked my ass off to get where I am. I graduated from Cornell with a double major in Computer Science and Digital Arts, Graphics and Animation! I was second in my class. I interned here at 1 and I’m going on my third year. I love my job and I wouldn’t do something as stupid and demeaning as sleep with my pig of a boss to jeopardize that.” She snarled at him.  
  
He merely blinked at her, unmoved at what she told him.  
  
She hated this guy.  
  
“So?”  
  
“So, that means how about you go to your seminars and leave the employees to do their work? Got it, _intern?_ ” She sneered the title at him before pushing past him.  
  
Dick seemed like an appropriate name.

* * *

Her hurried and pounding steps and the fierce scowl on her face had anyone moving out of her way as she made her way where Lyle was meeting her for lunch.  
  
“Ms. Spaulding! If I may have a word?” The familiar voice of Chetty filled her ears, making her pause. She took a deep and hopefully calming breath before turning around.  
  
“Is everything alright Ms. Spaulding?” He asked with slight concern.  
  
She cleared her throat before speaking. “Yes, of course. I was just,” her blue eyes caught sight of Dick over Chetty’s shoulder. She watched him warily as he read something on his phone before glancing up. He caught sight of her, giving her a small smirk. Gritting her teeth as he started walked towards them; she pushed forward in her explanation, “getting annoyed with the programming that a first year screwed up.” She informed Chetty just as Dick walked by.  
  
“Yes, well please be more relaxed. We don’t want you to visit the hospital again so soon.” She actually full body winced at his words as Dick passed them. She noticed out of the corner of her eye, that his steps faltered.  
  
“I promise I’ll control my annoyance and stress, Chetty.” She informed him with a small, grateful smile. “Besides Lyle would kill me if stressed myself more than I should.”  
  
“He is only worried about you, Maya.” The use of her first name surprised at her, but she didn’t let it show as she gave him a humorless smile.  
  
“So I’ve been told. Now, if you would excuse me, I’m actually meeting Lyle for lunch and he’s probably wondering where I am.”  
  
“Actually, I spoke to him before the meeting was over and informed him that I could use your help with one of the seminars I am holding.” She was able to catch the flinch before it became noticeable to Dick, who was still standing a few feet away from them.  
  
“Of-of course. As long as it’s alright with Mr. Parsons.”  
  
“He said that I could use you for a few hours.” She closed her eyes at his wording.  
  
“Gr-great. Which seminar did you want help with?”  
  
“Workplace.”  
  
She blanched because of course it would be that one when she was just accused of doing something inappropriate in the workplace.  
  
“I’ll meet you there, Chetty.” She managed to get out.  
  
“Wonderful. Room 186.”  
  
She didn’t say anything as she stared out in front of her.  
  
“Not a fucking word, Dick.” She snapped at the boy before marching in the opposite direction to take the long way.  
  
She didn’t even notice that he never took his eyes off of her.

* * *

She stood next to Chetty, tablet in hand as she told him about the project she was currently working on for Mr. Parsons.  
  
“Is that what you were working on during orientation?” He asked lightly as the Noogler’s entered the room.  
  
“Yeah, a first year screwed up the code for the formatting and coloring. I haven’t caught anything else, but it’s too soon to tell. After this last seminar I have to go to my office and check it out, but I’m confident that it was just a mixture of a lack of sleep and human error.” She told him as her eyes roamed over the interns.  
  
Her eyes just landed on Dick when Chetty spoke, “Just don’t scare the poor boy.” He whispered to her with a small amused smile.  
  
Surprised at the correct assumption, she threw her head back and laughed. “I’ll try not to, but I make no promises.” She said between giggles. She suddenly felt two distinct pair of eyes on her.  
  
Looking over, she spotted Kiss Ass staring at her eagerly making her sneer at him at him when Chetty wasn’t looking. She wasn’t surprised to see the Dick was the other one watching her.  
  
Her blue eyes locked onto his whisky.  
  
Whatever disdain he had for her earlier was mostly gone, just over powered with a sense of curiosity like he wanted to figure her out. _No,_ she shook her head slightly as she moved off to the side, _like he wanted to figure out why he was interested,_ she amended. She knew his type, head always in the codes, computer and phone always on hand, never admiring the beauty around them.  
  
It was a sad and lonely life for a twenty-one year old.  
  
She placed her tablet in her bag before placing it carefully it in one of the empty chairs in the front row.  
  
“Now I recognize that Google is not a conventional workplace.” She coughed covering a laugh at Chetty’s words. Smiling and waving innocently at him when he shot her an amused glance causing the interns to laugh. “This having said that we have rules. My colleague Maya,” he waved a hand towards her where every intern stared at her, “and myself are going to ask you a series of questions. You’re going to raise the green paddle to indicate yes and the red for no. So, let’s begin.”  
  
Chetty pressed clicker in his hand and the screen changed.  
  
“Having a beer with your boss.”  
  
Almost everyone in the room raised a red paddle. She wasn’t surprised when the two older interns raised the green ones.  
  
“Some of you are under twenty-one.” Chetty said to the group, but his eyes were on the two.  
  
“Some of us aren’t under twenty-one. So, if you want to grab a cold one with me, I would be happy to do that with you.” The tall dark haired one said.  
  
She watched in growing amusement as Chetty shot the invitation down.  
  
“You get high?” She choked down her surprised laugh at the question.  
  
“I don’t get high.” Chetty denied.  
  
“Okay.” The intern shrugged, “I’m not judging. I’m just saying people do it.” She watched as he leaned forward to quietly talk to Dick. She watched with slight interest. Dick never even looked at the older man once, keeping his eyes on the screen before him as he shook his head.  
  
She turned back to focus on Chetty as he nodded to her, clicking the remote where the screen changed.  
  
“Dating a fellow intern.” Her voice was soft, but full of meaning as she carefully watched them. She knew suddenly knew why Chetty had help with this seminar, especially as Kiss Ass eyes were still on her. He wanted to see what interns would be tempted.  
  
_Oh well play Chetty. Well played. Get the pretty girl to say this rule in a room full of males, who most probably never even talked to a girl that wasn’t their mother or teacher,_ she thought in humor. She thought she should be annoyed, but really it made sense to some weird degree.  
  
Once again, every paddle with the exception of the two older ones held up the red. Though she did notice that both Kiss Ass and Dick had tightened their hands on the green. She looked on curiously at Dick, somehow surprised at the small reaction, but he refused to look in her direction.  
  
“Unfortunately this is Google.” She told them as the screen showed the red paddle. “Not Match.com.”  
  
The blond spoke up, “Excuse me, what about a full time employee. Say management level, but not a direct supervisor. Great eyes and a severity that is surprisingly sexy.”  
  
She blinked at him, not know if he was serious or joking, before turning to Chetty. “I’m going to let you handle this, kay? Okay.” She said as she stepped back.  
  
Maya watched blankly as Chetty continued to shoot down anything the two said. She didn’t know why he was being so hard on them as she did know that he identified with them. Somehow, she thought that he was secretly hoping for them to succeed in the program.  
  
She mentally rolled her eyes as the screen once again changed. It would be like Chetty to bring hell down on some intern or employee that he saw potential in.  
  
She leaned back against the wall keeping her eyes on the interns as the words became background noise. 

* * *

Stuart couldn’t figure it out.  
  
He hated the feeling as it was something that he wasn’t familiar with. Codes, data, concrete logic that’s what he knew, what he was familiar with. He wasn’t a people person or a team player; human contact and feelings were completely foreign to him that his parents often worried.  
  
So, for the life of him he couldn’t figure it out why this girl wouldn’t leave him alone and why it was bugging him so much.  
  
He first noticed her at orientation. He had felt eyes on him and when he looked over he was surprised to see a beautiful girl, who looked around his age, staring at him. He could tell from this distance that her eyes were blue. Her hair was a honey color and fell in soft waves around her shoulder. Her skin had a little color to it, but it looked smooth and soft.  
  
She was wearing a lime green tank top with a short sleeve dark blue t-shirt over it. Her jeans were faded with a hole on her thigh and small tears here and there. She was wearing black Converses. Her clothing clung to her like a second skin showing off her curves.  
  
He noticed the ID badge that was clipped to her shirts and he was curious if she was an actual employee or was just visiting.  
  
She had shot him a smirk before returning to the tablet on hand.  
  
He made himself focus on Chetty, but every so often he would glance at the girl.  
  
When the orientation was over, he left the room, but had to turn around as he had forgotten his beanie. He had spotted her talking to someone he assumed was her boss as she pointed to her tablet, hearing her speak about formatting and codes.  
  
As he quietly made his way down the stairs he heard the man ask her to lunch. Even he could hear the suggestive tone the older man used. He was however surprised at the annoyance he felt and the relief of her declining.  
  
He really didn’t know what happened next as he watched her sit on one of the benches. And when she spoke to herself, he couldn’t stop the words from coming even if he didn’t know where they were coming from.  
  
She had obviously been surprised at his words, most likely thinking she was alone. He wasn’t sure why, but he was surprised that she had fought back. But the more she spoke, the more he learned about her and the more he was intrigued by the beautiful girl.  
  
Her name was Maya. She went to Cornell University and double majored in Computer Science and Digital Arts, Graphics and Animation. She was second in her class. She had done the internship when she was 17 and she’s now a third year employee working in the Google Play department. She was apparently close to someone name Lyle and that she was recently in the hospital. She called him Dick.  
  
She made his pulse race.  
  
He wanted to figure her out.  
  
And he hated that.


	4. 00000100

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya meets Lyle's team and not everyone is impressed and neither is she if she was honest.

**Next Day**   
  
She was just curious on who Lyle was going to end up with for his team.   
  
At least that’s what she was telling herself and a part of her knew she was telling the truth. She was absolutely proud of her brother for how far he had come. She knew that he was nervous and worried that he wouldn’t get a team or that his team wouldn’t like him, but she had faith he could do this.   
  
The other part was curious as to what mentor Dick would choose.   
  
She watched as the interns talked quietly between themselves as she snuck up behind the couch where her brother was sitting.   
  
“Hey.” She greeted softly making him jump in his seat.   
  
“Maya!” He nearly yelled, but she quieted him down as her eyes flickered around the room to see if anyone had noticed.  
  
Only one intern was paying any attention to her.   
  
He was eyeing her and Lyle and she realized at what the picture seemed to the interns.   
  
She was leaning over the back of the couch; her face was about six inches away from Lyle’s. She knew that her normally distant expression was warm and open as it usually was when she was in her older brother’s comforting presences.   
  
She wondered what he thought he was seeing.   
  
“Maya?” Her brother’s voice brought her back to reality. Tearing her eyes away so she wasn’t drowning in whiskey, she looked into the comforting brown of Lyle.   
  
“So, are we nervous or excited?” She asked him teasingly, brushing off the small stare down even if she could still feel his gaze on her.   
  
“Both while also scared shitless.” He admitted quietly. Her eyes softened as her brother fidgeted.   
  
“You’re going to be a great team manager, Lyle.” She told him seriously. She didn’t know if he believed her or not, but he smiled at her gratefully pressing a quick kiss to forehead.   
  
“You’re the best sister ever, you know that.”   
  
She rolled her eyes at him with an amused grin on her face. “Helps I’m your only sister, but yeah I know.” She pressed her own kiss to his temple. “Text me when you get your team. I’m going to want to meet them. See if they’re good enough for my big brother.”   
  
He nodded and she straighten up to stand, eyes clashing with Dick once more. He was frowning which wasn’t that surprising as whenever they had seen each other in the past twenty-four hours, he was either smirking or frowning at her. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were intense.   
  
Shaking off the weirdness, she left the room, hoping against hope that Lyle wouldn’t get stuck with the leftovers.

* * *

She had lost herself in fixing the formatting issue that she had pushed off yesterday when she received that text.   
  
Clicking on the Hangout icon, her past conversation with Lyle appeared with new a message.   
  
_We’re in our shared office. Room 237C._   
  
She couldn’t really determine anything from the words, so she had no way of knowing on how he was feeling.   
  
_Be there in five._   
  
Just as she hit send, she stood up, tablet in hand, ID badge connected to the brown vest she was wearing over a white short-sleeve shirt. She was wearing a white flowing skirt and a pair of light brown leather heeled boots.   
  
She walked out her office; her head already back to her tablet. Entering the elevator, her mind wandered to who Lyle’s team consisted of. One thing was for sure, she hoped that British guy who had hit on her yesterday wasn’t on it.   
  
_Speak of the devil,_ she thought as the elevator opened revealing Kiss Ass. She kept her eyes on her tablet as he and five others walked in behind him.   
  
“Hey Maya.” She looked up to see Jason smiling at her.   
  
“Jason hey! What’s going on?” She asked with a grin, ignoring the way Kiss Ass was leering at her.   
  
“Having a team meeting. You?”   
  
“I’m about to meet Lyle’s team.” She noticed the way Jason seemed to grimace in sympathy.   
  
“Oh god, don’t tell me…” She trailed off.   
  
“He’s probably mentally freaking out. He’s going to need you to calm him down.”   
  
“My brother’s an anxious idiot.” She muttered to herself as the doors opened again. She stepped out and they followed her heading to their own office.   
  
She could see her brother standing in front of his team. Taking a quick glance at them, her heart sunk at the sight of the two older interns. _Jesus Lyle,_ she thought to herself before her eyes landed on a Japanese boy, who just screamed a lack of social skill and an Indian girl. She furrowed her brows, wondering if she missed counted or if Lyle somehow got the short end of the stick and only got four. It has been known to happen on an occasion.   
  
“Excuse me, Maya was it?” The annoying British boy asked. Clenching her jaw, she turned to face him. He was alone, the rest of his team having already entered their shared office space down the hall from Lyle’s.   
  
“What?” She responded sharply, wanting to get away from him as fast as she could. “I just realize that I never introduced myself. My name in Graham Hawtrey.” He held out his hand for her to shake. She gave it disdainful look before meeting his eyes.   
  
“I don’t care.”   
  
“You should. We’re going to be co-worker by the end of the summer.” His confidence was irritating and she wanted to wipe the smug smirk off his face.   
  
“Summer just began. A lot of things can happen between now and then.” She informed him.   
  
“Like getting you to fall in love with me?” He asked her charmingly and had she not found him completely full of bullshit, she would have fallen for it. She turned away from him.   
  
“It’s good to have dreams. Even if it’s impossible.” She said over her shoulder as she walked to the door to Lyle’s office.   
  
“It’s going to happen. By the end of the summer you’ll be in love.” He called out to her.   
  
She scowled at him. “But not with you.” With that she opened the door roughly and barged in.   
  
All eyes were on her as the door slammed shut behind her. She tensed, hearing Graham chuckle through the glass doors and made sure to throw a glare at him as he walked to where his team was station.   
  
“Uh-Maya?” Lyle called out cautiously.   
  
Eyes shot to his as they flashed angrily. “I’m going to kill that guy.”   
  
Her brother pinched the bridge of his nose, “You’re not killing anyone.”   
  
“You can’t stop me.” She said defiantly as she crossed her arms over her chest, holding the tablet close to her.   
  
“No, but do you really want to hear it from mom?” It was a low blow and they both knew it.   
  
She glared at him for a small moment, “I hate you.”   
  
He shook his head with a grin, “No you don’t.”   
  
“Whatever.”   
  
“I’m sorry, but who are you?” An annoyed feminine voice asked. Glancing up, she spotted the culprit standing off to the side arms crossed under chest as she eyed her condescendingly. She held in her snappy retort and gave her a mocking smile, not at all surprised that she was trying to assert herself with the guys, hoping to make them realize she was the one girl that matter at this time.   
  
“A third year Googler.” She told the girl sharply making her squirm.   
  
“Her name’s Maya.” A voice cut in. Her blue eyes shot to the couch where the familiar face of Dick was lounging. It was strange that her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.   
  
Lyle’s eyes narrowed as they flickered between the two of them. “You two know each other?”   
  
“We met in passing.” She said lightly, daring Dick to say something to contradict her.   
  
“She was also working with Chetty in the Workplace Seminar.” Dick told the group as he slowly looked up her up and down. However, unlike with Graham, who made her skin crawl, his gaze was making her blood warm and skin prickle.   
  
She needed get outside more to cool off as the heater seemed to on today.   
  
“Lyle why don’t you introduce me to your team?” She suggested wanting to get away from the heady feeling that muddling her brain from his stare.   
  
She made sure to pay close attention to the names.   
  
The girl who gave attitude was Neha Patel.   
  
The quite Japanese kid was Yo-Yo Santos.   
  
The tall dark haired was Billy McMahon, the first half of the charity case.   
  
The blond was Nick Campbell, the second half.   
  
And finally that just left Dick, also known as, Stuart Twombly.   
  
_Stuart,_ she said the name in her head. _I like it._   
  
“Guys this Maya. My sister.”   
  
She wished she had a camera to capture the looks on Neha and Stuart’s faces.   
  
It was priceless.


	5. 00000101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Kiss Ass himself gives his thoughts on Maya and Maya watches over the first challenge.

Sister.   
  
The pretty girl that had somehow sunk up on him was his team manager’s sister.   
  
_Of course she would be,_ he thought bitterly, _the first person I show an actual interest in and she’s off limits._   
  
He shook those thoughts away from the dangerous territory they were heading.   
  
_This day couldn’t get any better_ , he decided sarcastically as he looked at his team.   
  
Neha and Yo-Yo seemed competent enough in their skills.   
  
Lyle obviously knew what the fuck he was doing, even if he wanted to punch him every time he spoke in the third person.   
  
It was two bumbling, overgrown idiots that him saying goodbye to whatever hope he had of working here.   
  
He had to wonder why they were even allowed in the program in the first place.   
  
Stuart glanced up from his phone, eyes finding Maya again. He had noticed her as soon as she came storming in with her honey hair in a low ponytail over her shoulder, her blue eyes searing with anger and disgust, and a scowl painted on shining lips as she talked about killing one of the interns.   
  
The skirt she was wearing had whipped around her thighs before settling down calmly when she stood next to Lyle, the hem ending a couple inches above her knees.   
  
He had swallowed at the sight of all her creamy skin.   
  
Why did his hormones have to come out now?   
  
He shook his head again, ignoring the voice in his head that was talking.   
  
_You’re a healthy twenty-one year old male and she’s a beautiful twenty-one year old female. It’s natural._  
  
The voice sounded a lot like is dad.   
  
Going back to his phone where everything made sense, he let the other’s talking become enough background noise where he could still catch what they were saying, but still completely ignore them too.   
  
“A third year Googler? How old are you?” He heard Billy ask.   
  
“21. I did the internship program when I was 17.”  
  
“When you were still in high school?” It was Nick this time talking.   
  
“I graduated high school just a little after my sixteenth birthday. I went to Cornell on a full academic scholarship after.”   
  
“Wow. Is everyone in your family super smart?” Nick asked causing Maya to laugh lightly.   
  
He ignored the way his hands tensed around his phone.   
  
“I mean I guess, but I never really noticed.” She told them.   
  
“Mia, was it?” Neha’s question had him looking up and eyed her cautiously before sparing a glanced at the other girl.   
  
Her smile was tight and slightly condescending like she knew that Neha was doing this to get under her skin, but wasn’t having any success in doing so. “It’s Maya.” She corrected blandly.   
  
“Whatever. So, where do you work?”   
  
“In Play.”   
  
He already knew this of course, but it was still impressive.   
  
“I’m one of the top programmers for them.”   
  
_That_ he didn’t know.   
  
“Now if you would excuse me, I should get back to work.” She told them. “It was nice meeting you guys. Lyle, text me if you won’t be home tonight.”   
  
Lyle nodded and then everyone was saying bye to her. She paused before opening the door and looked over her shoulder with an amused spark in her eyes.   
  
“Bye Dick.” She was looking right at him with a small grin. She walked of the office before anyone could say anything, leaving him to stare blankly at the doors.   
  
He felt someone nudge his knee; turning wide eyes to Nick, he was irritated to see the smug smirk the idiot was wearing.   
  
“Looks like the pretty girl likes Stuart here.” The older man said teasingly causing Stuart to scowl at him.   
  
“No. No. My sister doesn’t like anyone. At all. _Ever._ ” Lyle denied. It was kind of humorous to see the guy act like his younger sister didn’t know that boys existed.   
  
“Lyle, my man. Maya’s a beautiful, healthy young woman.” Billy informed him and Stuart was curious as to why Lyle flinched at the mention of ‘healthy’. “Trust me your sister likes guys and from the way she couldn’t stop staring at him, she has her eye on Stuart.”   
  
His heart _did not_ start to race.   
  
It didn’t.   
  
“Just let me pretend that she’s still eight years old and the only boys that don’t have cooties are me and our dad.” Lyle begged and he ended up taking pity on the guy.   
  
“Relax, she hates me. Every time we saw each other we got into an argument. It’s why she calls me Dick.” He said emotionlessly as he went back to his phone.   
  
“Right. Well our translate lecture is in fifteen minutes.” Lyle told them after an awkward silence. “Let’s go Team Lyle.” Pause. “No? Okay, we’ll work on it. It’s in beta. Let’s go.”   
  
_This summer is going to suck ass,_ Stuart thought as he followed them out.

* * *

**Next Day**   
  
He spotted her in the café.   
  
The ever present tablet in hand, a beverage that she would occasionally drink out of, and ear buds in place that connected to a silver iPod classic that was resting on the table, next to a notebook and a pen.   
  
He watched as her pointer finger tapped against the edge of her tablet, mimicking the beat to whatever song she was listening too. Every so often she would set the tablet down, and grab the pen, quickly writing something out.   
  
When he first saw her at orientation, he figured that he could convince her to on his team, mainly because of her appearance and thought maybe he could sleep with her too. It through his plans off a bit when she informed that she was an actual employee.   
  
Even more so when he learned that her brother worked here as well and was a team manager.   
  
_No matter_ , he thought determinedly, _I always get what I want._   
  
He started to make his way towards her when she began packing her things in her bag, tablet included. She stood up, stretching before slinging the bag over her shoulder and grabbed her beverage cup.   
  
He followed her as she walked out of the building, tossing the cup in a nearby trashcan. He was assuming that she was heading home for the day as it was nearing 6:30, but someone had called out her name making her pause and turned to face the culprit.   
  
It was the kid in the beanie; the one who had to deal with the two old interns. _Stan or something,_ he thought vaguely.   
  
He watched as they talked, things becoming heated, though they weren’t yelling at each other. She poked his chest roughly as she spoke to him and he glared to down at her with a clenched jaw.   
  
Narrowing his eyes at the pair, he wondered what they could be arguing about.   
  
She spun away from the kid, quickly leaving him by himself as he glared in her direction. He muttered a string of curse words before turning around and heading to the intern apartments.   
  
Something was going on there, but it never stopped him before because like he said before:   
  
Graham Hawtrey always got what he wanted.

* * *

**Earlier that Day**  
 **First Challenge**  
  
Chetty had asked for her help again.   
  
He wanted her to keep an eye on what was happening during the first challenge.   
  
She tried to tell him no, that she had too much work to do and that she was biased with her brother and all, but he told her that he faith that she could keep her emotions out of the competition.   
  
She wasn’t so sure of that as she walked past Lyle’s team, riveted in the way Stuart was focusing on the board in front of him.  
  
Why? Why was she captivated by this guy?   
  
Their very first meeting he accused her of sleeping her way into her job and up the ladder basically degrading her and calling her intelligence into question. She hated when people did that.   
  
One doesn’t get into Cornell University at 16 just because they were pretty.   
  
Besides, she wouldn’t do something as stupid as sleep with her boss. She would never jeopardize her career.   
  
She owed Google her life.   
  
Literally.   
  
She hated this guy and everything that he stood for. Oh, there was no denying that he was smart. He was valedictorian at his high school, graduating with honors; a full ride scholarship to MIT where he was in the top 5 percentile of his class. Lyle had even told her that he was getting offers from Apple and Samsung, but that he really wanted to be at Google.   
  
But he had an attitude that rivaled her ex-boyfriend from college and focused way too much on his phone and not the world around him. He belittled everything anyone said and judged someone with just a look.   
  
She hated people like that and yet…   
  
There was something about him that had her pausing and looking at him differently. He was attractive with his tall frame. He wasn’t overly fit with bulging muscles, but they were lean and there. His chocolate brown hair was always covered in the stupid beanie, but she imagined it would be spiked. He was always wearing some kind of smirk on his full lips. But it was his eyes, those searing whiskey colored eyes that burned through her whenever they connected with hers.   
  
She always had a thing for whiskey.   
  
She turned her attention to the other groups, glancing over at Lyle’s every so often.   
  
It was when Neha stood up and yelled at Nick and Billy that she walked over to them and quietly slipped into the office. She raised an eyebrow at Lyle, who shook his head wanting to see how this would play out.   
  
“…but you’re not helping. You’re saying a lot of words really fast that mean nothing.” She told them seriously. “To find the bug, we need to scan the user logs and find the code until we find the programmer’s mistake. It’s the only way.”   
  
“Except what if it’s not the only way?” Billy interjected.   
  
“Okay, you said that someone programmed it. That means that some person in this building wrote that code.” He had a point, but she knew that it wasn’t going to help them debug it.   
  
Curious on what code they were using, she silently made her way to one of the screens, eyes scanning the familiar audio program.   
  
A very familiar audio program.   
  
_Well damn_ , she thought flattered at the sight, _they’re fixing my code. Wait! My code doesn’t need fixing especially not this one!_   
  
It was kind of insulting that they ruined her code.   
  
She forced herself to listen to Billy talk about someone name Tony and kayaking and throwing a few beers around. She made sure not to say anything about any of this.   
  
“Yeah, actually I think that’s a great idea.” Stuart’s voice cut in suddenly. She raised an eyebrow at him, somehow not liking the expression on his face.   
  
“Dark and stormy feeling us!”   
  
“Yeah, no feeling ya big time buddy.” He paused as Billy and Nick got excited over someone agree with them. “You know what in fact why don’t the two of you right now, go and find the programmer.”   
  
Lyle shook his head and she wanted to smack him for not stopping this.   
  
“Yo-Yo, who’s our man?” Nick asked.   
  
She watched as Yo-Yo spotted something over on one of the desks. “His name is Charles Xavier.” She tensed at the name, disapproving eyes on the boy.   
  
“Uh-he’s a professor. At Stanford.” Neha added, making her press her mouth in a thin line. “Yeah, just a few minutes away really.”  
  
_I am not here. I am not here. I’m just observing that it all. I can ream their asses later._  
  
“Guys.” Lyle tried to stop, but she knew that it wouldn’t help anything.   
  
“And he’s in a wheelchair.”   
  
“Got it Stanford. Wheelchair. What else?”   
  
“Oh he’s bald.”

“He might be with his best friend who wears a metal helmet.”  
  
The three interns kept throwing random X-Men trivia at them before Neha gave the last one.  
  
“He has a British accent!”   
  
Nick had decided that was more than enough information as he started out the door.   
  
“Okay. Think fly. Think bug. I promise you this somehow intersects with Goldblum.” Billy said before following Nick out.   
  
“All right back to work guys.” Neha’s said softly as they turned back to the challenge.  
  
She watched in disgust as they went to work like they didn’t just haze two-fifths of their team.   
  
“Maya.” Lyle said quietly as to not bring the other’s attention to her.   
  
“I got to say that was mighty impressive.” She said loud enough for the interns to hear. She satisfied when they tensed at the sound of her voice before slowly turning to face her.   
  
“They were getting in the way, Maya.” Lyle tried to reason. She shot him a livid look.   
  
“I’m well aware of that, but that gives you no reason to send them out on a wild goose chase, Lyle Marcus.” She snapped at him.   
  
“What are you even doing here?” Neha asked, her fingers clenching the marker tightly as she shifted on her feet.   
  
“Chetty wanted me to observe the teams.” She told them, “He wanted me see just how well everyone was working together in their teams.”   
  
“They’re useless Maya.” Stuart pointed out. It was the first time he addressed her by her first name and she scowled at the pause her heart made.   
  
“Then you tell them that and don’t get rid of them to find the programmer or the X-Men.” She yelled, “Especially not when the person who wrote the code is right here.” She pointed to herself.   
  
She turned back to her brother, “You and I will talk later.”  
  
As she walked out, she reminded herself that she hated people like that.   
  
She didn’t look at Lyle’s team for the rest of the challenge.


	6. 00000110

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya is confronted by Stuart and Lyle and we learn how Maya and Marielena met.

She refused to talk Lyle when she got home still fuming from her argument with Stuart.   
  
_“Maya!” She heard someone call out. Turning around, she frowned when she spotted Stuart coming up to her._  
  
 _“Mr. Twombly, what can I do for you?” She bit out, hoping the formal tone would get him to leave her alone._  
  
 _He looked startled at the use of his last name. “Mr. Twombly? Is that how it’s going to be?” He asked seriously._  
  
 _“Yes, that is how it’s going to be; especially if you’re going to be petty and childish.” She snapped at him._  
  
 _He sighed, stepping closer to her, “That’s what I came to talk to you about.” He said quietly. She looked up at him with hard eyes, trying not to noticed that he towered over her as she only came up to his shoulders. It made her feel tiny._  
  
 _“Oh please let me hear how you’re going to justify your actions today.” She said sarcastically._  
  
 _“They don’t know any of this stuff or anything technology related.” He started and she understood that. She really did, but he just wasn’t getting why she was so upset._  
  
 _He was just like the rest of them._  
  
 _She glared up at him, “So that gives you the right to push them out? Make them feel even more like an outcast?”_  
  
 _She had four encounters with the guy and was getting attached with nothing to go on from his end. She knew nothing about him other than his academic record and that he was a dick. This soft spot had to go away; she couldn’t the risk of it ruining her, because that’s what would happen if she got attached._  
  
 _He would destroy her._  
  
 _He could destroy her._  
  
 _And she hated herself because she couldn’t seem to stop trying to learn anything about him because she hasn’t been this interested about a guy since college._  
  
 _And that had ended with her with an addiction and a bad heart._  
  
 _“Look okay, I’ll admit it was a dick move on our parts, but you weren’t stopping us either!” He pointed out._  
  
 _She poked him in the chest, “Because I’m not a team manager. I’m not responsible for any of you. That’s my brother’s job. I’ve been task to oversee the challenges with an impassive eye and I’ll gladly inform Chetty what happened today, but while he may not like them either, he doesn’t want pompous asshole working for this company either.”_  
  
 _It was never going to happen._  
  
 _“He’s trusting you with that? Even with Lyle?”_  
  
 _“Yes, he is, but I’ll step down and put my support in Graham’s” She spat the name out like it was dirt, “team.”_  
  
 _He stared down at her with narrowed eyes, “You wouldn’t.”_  
  
 _She stepped closer; her breasts lightly brushed against his chest causing him to tense and clench his hands into fists and for her to nearly tremble. “Try me.” She whispered softly before turning away._  
  
 _She didn’t relax until she couldn’t feel his eyes on her anymore._  
  
 _She wasn’t going to him destroy her._   
  
She walked right past Lyle, who was nervously standing in the kitchen, and headed to her room.   
  
“Maya! Let me explain please!” He begged as he followed her.   
  
She didn’t say anything.   
  
“Come on Maya! Don’t be like this.”   
  
Nothing.   
  
“Maya. Look I’m sorry, but what was I supposed to do?” He asked and his dejected tone made her snap.   
  
She whipped around, glaring at him. “Be a team manager! You are responsible for those kids and Nick and Billy.” She spat at him causing him to flinch, but she didn’t back down. “ _You_ are supposed to make them come together as a team because how else are they going to work here if they manage to get the jobs?” She asked rhetorically. “You know that Google is more than just technology and apps and updates. It’s about bringing people together in the easiest of ways.”   
  
His shoulders slumped and his head fell forward in defeat. She softened at the sight and her next words as she stepped forward placing a hand on his shoulder.   
  
“I get that this isn’t fair to you having not only the leftovers, but getting Nick and Billy too, but you can’t just let the others act childish like that. I’ll tell you what I told Stuart,” He looked startled at the news, but he could open his mouth to say anything she continued, “I’ll gladly inform Chetty on happened today because I don’t want to be working with those kinds of people and last time I checked neither did you.” She pointed out softly.   
  
He nodded, understanding what she was saying. “Lyle your my brother and I love you, but what happened today,” she shook her head, “I didn’t even recognize you and I didn’t like what I saw.”   
  
“I know and I’m sorry.” He said, but she shook her head again.   
  
“It’s not me you owe an apology too.”   
  
He closed his eyes, “You’re right. I’ll talk to them tomorrow.”   
  
“Good.” Lyle looked at her then with a thoughtful expression. “You talked to Stuart about what happened?” He asked curiously making her tense as the argument came to mind once more.   
  
“He tried to justify his actions to me when I was heading home.” She told him in a clipped tone.   
  
“You don’t like him very much do you?”   
  
She raised an eyebrow at him. “He accused me of sleeping my away into a job when we first met.”   
  
_“He did what?”_ He shouted, making her roll her eyes at him.   
  
“Relax, I set him straight.” She said dismissively though Stuart’s words still stung a little.   
  
“How can you expect to relax, Maya? I have to mentor this guy and he insulted you. You know I don’t stand for that.” Lyle stated seriously.   
  
She sighed, her irritation with the whole day, blowing over. “And it’s over and done with. It was the first and only time it happened. Any other time I dealt with him he was usually dickish self. It’s fine and I’m over it.”   
  
He snorted, not believing her. “You had your intelligence insulted and you hate that, but even more so I know what working at Google means to you and how much it helped with your recovery. And you’re just going to let it go for him. Why?”  
  
“Because-” She paused, thinking it over, “I don’t know.”   
  
Lyle stared at her for a moment. “You like him.”   
  
“I- _what?_ ” She laughed at the statement. “I don’t even know him, Lyle. How the hell can I like him?”   
  
“Because you’re not destroying his life for insulting your intelligence.”   
  
“Maybe I’m just turning over a new leaf.” She suggested with a shrug. “You know not taking anything seriously and all that.”   
  
“Bullshit.”  
  
“Oh god, whatever. I don’t like Stuart.”   
  
“I don’t believe you.”   
  
“Fine. Would you like me tell you what I think of him, Lyle?” She asked as an idea came to mind. It was the only way to get him off her back. “He’s hot.”   
  
“Hot?”   
  
She nodded, “Yeah. You know extremely attractive? I’d like to take him home and rip that ridiculous beanie off his head and fuck him for hours at end.” She said with such a straight face she wondered for a minute if there was some truth to her words.  
  
_No!_ She told herself, _I will not go there._  
  
“ _Maya!_ ” He shouted in disgust as he slammed his eyes shut to rid himself of her words.   
  
She shrugged innocently, “What? You asked.”   
  
“I hate you.”  
  
She grinned, “Love you too.” She turned around walked to her room with a skip her step, feeling much better now that she talked to Lyle.  
  
When she fell asleep later that night, she dreamed of burning whiskey and a beanie on the ground.

* * *

Maya was Marielena’s best friend.  
  
She also knew that Maya viewed her as something as close to a sister as well. Marielena was Maya’s first stepping stone to a better life than the one she had been living.   
  
_She first met Maya when the younger girl was had just turned seventeen. Lyle was going on his second year with Google, but had taken some personal time, claiming a family emergency._  
  
 _He had been back for about a of couple weeks when Maya stopped by. Marielena was in the café when she spotted the girl, who was nervously shifting on her feet, arms wrapped tightly around her, flinching whenever someone got to close to her._  
  
 _She took in the pale skin, the deep bruising under her eyes, the baggy clothing that hid her frame and the skittish expression._  
  
 _This girl was in survival mode._  
  
 _Or was at least trying to get there._  
  
 _Her heart went out to the girl; she knew the signs of someone slipping up. She knew that the smallest of things could trigger the biggest consequences. With her second job at the club, she had friends who got hooked on whatever was around at the time. Heroine, meth, ecstasy, the list goes on._  
  
 _Cocaine was a popular one too._  
  
 _Before she knew what she was doing, she was slowly making her way to her._  
  
 _She made sure that she was seen when she approached, noticing the stiffness in her shoulders when she greeted her._  
  
 _“Hello.” She greeted softly, kindly as though she was speaking to a terrified child._  
  
 _The girl gave a jerky nod._  
  
 _“Are you here for someone?” She asked, not put off by the lack of words._  
  
 _She nodded again._  
  
 _“Do you need some help finding them?”_  
  
 _The girl paused her movements, chewing on her lip as she contemplated the question and her blue eyes that seemed to dull, a shadow of the girl she used to be, stared down at the ground before nodding again._  
  
 _Marielena had smiled gently at her even if she didn’t see it. “Okay then. Why don’t you tell me who we’re looking for?”_  
  
 _“M-my br-brother.”_  
  
 _Her voice was soft as she tripped over her words._  
  
 _“And what’s his name?”_  
  
 _“L-Lyle S-Spaulding.”_  
  
 _She tried to picture who the girl was talking about, no one came to mind. It wasn’t unusual as she didn’t know everyone in the company._  
  
 _“Okay. Why don’t we head to reception?” She suggested, pointing over to the long desk. She moved to stand next to her, making sure not to touch her as she didn’t want to scare her off._  
  
 _The girl didn’t say anything as they slowly walked to the reception desk._  
  
 _“What’s your name?” Marielena asked quietly._  
  
 _The girl glanced at her, but didn’t answer._  
  
 _“My name’s Marielena.”_  
  
 _Still nothing, but she wasn’t all that surprised._  
  
 _“Hey Gwen?” She called out to the receptionist, who looked up, eyes flickering between the two of them before they landed on the girl._  
  
 _“Yes?”_  
  
 _“Lyle Spaulding’s sister is here to see him. Do you know where we could find him?” She asked, hoping to get the attention away from the tense young woman next to her._  
  
 _Gwen was eyeing the girl distrustfully and didn’t speak for a moment. The girl started to fidget nervously, chewing on her lip again as her eyes stayed on the ground._  
  
 _“Gwen.” Marielena said sharply causing the girl to flinch and step back, but she seemed to realize that the irritation wasn’t towards her. “Will you please tell us where Lyle is?” She asked, her voice dripping with forced politeness._  
  
 _The woman nodded, still giving the girl the stink eye, as she went to her computer._  
  
 _The tense silence had both of them on edge, but she couldn’t do anything to help without scaring the poor girl. “_  
  
 _He’s up in Search. Here’s a visitor’s badge for Ms. Spaulding.” Gwen said dubiously as though the girl was lying about her relation to Lyle._  
  
 _Marielena took the badge from her and gave her a fake smile._  
  
 _“Thank you so much for your help.” She said sarcastically before turning her back to her._  
  
 _She softened her tone and posture, “Let’s go see your brother, yeah?” She asked with a small smile that the girl returned politely._  
  
 _When they were in the elevator, the girl pushed herself in the corner, arms no longer wrapped around her, but hanging at her sides, her fingers tapping against the leg._  
  
 _“T-thank y-you.” She said quietly, the relief and gratitude thick in her tone._  
  
 _Marielena shook her head, “It’s not a problem. I never like Gwen anyways. She needs to get laid more so the stick up her ass isn’t so pronounced._  
  
 _The laugh that came out of her startled them both, but Marielena was happy to hear it. It was hearty and infectious and brightened her face, sparking her eyes with some life. But she could tell that she hadn’t laughed like that in a long time and she wondered what her story was._  
  
 _The doors slid opened and they walked out coming to face a series of desks that were filled with computers. People were scattered about either working, talking to people, or on their way somewhere else._  
  
 _Marielena stopped someone as the past asking if they knew where Lyle Spaulding was._  
  
 _Following where they were pointing, she spotted a shaggy coffee brown head facing a computer screen._  
  
 _After thanking them, she and the girl headed the way. She noticed the way the girl started to perk up, life shining in her blue eyes at the sight of her brother. The girl stood a little straighter and her pace quicken slightly wanting to see him._  
  
 _“Lyle!” The girl called out with a stronger voice then the one she had been hearing._  
  
 _The boy jumped, having not expected the noise, as he turned around._  
  
 _He was cute in that geeky way, Marielena noted._  
  
 _He had dark brown eyes that hid behind a pair of thick rimmed glasses. He was wearing an MIT t-shirt and jeans. He was on the pale side and when he stood up, he only appeared to be a few inches taller than her._  
  
 _His eyes widen at the sight of the girl, who rushed towards him._  
  
 _“Is everything all right? Did something happen?” He asked worriedly as he met her halfway, hands coming to rest on her arms, looking her over for injuries before he stared into her eyes searching for something._  
  
 _The girl shrugged, suddenly embarrassed for having disturbed him._  
  
 _“It was a bad day.” She mumbled eyes on her hands in front of her._  
  
 _He sighed, his whole body screamed with exhaustion, but she noted that it was more in relief than anything else. Lyle pulled the girl to him, tucking her head under his chin, wrapping her up in his arms. The girl’s own arms circled his waist squeezing him tightly as she burrowed her head into his collarbone._  
  
 _Marielena swallowed the ‘aww’ that wanted to come out._  
  
 _It was clear that Lyle loved his sister very much._  
  
 _“I’m sorry for disrupting you. I just,” The girl paused struggling to find her wording, “needed to see you.”_  
  
 _He scoffed, arms tightening. “You can stop by whenever you want, okay? All this.” He removed one arm from her to wave it around him. “Doesn’t come before you and it never will. You are more important than anything. Do you understand?” He asked her seriously._  
  
 _She didn’t say anything, but nodded._  
  
 _“Good and you know what? You came at the perfect time. I was just about to grab lunch.” He told her happily._  
  
 _Marielena hid her smile, having spotted an empty take-out container in the garbage can next to his desk._  
  
 _“That sound okay?”_  
  
 _“Sounds great.”_  
  
 _He smiled down at her as they turned to the elevators, only to come to face her. She blushed lightly, suddenly realizing that she had eavesdropped on a private conversation._  
  
 _Lyle eyed her cautiously and she started apologizing. “Uh-hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to listen it. I just brought her up because she was looking for you and the receptionist was a bitch. And I just wanted to make sure she got up here safely.”_  
  
 _He still looked a little distrustfully, even as his sister nodded in agreement. “She was nice to me.” She told her brother, glancing up at him._  
  
 _Her words softened his expression and he looked at her gratefully._  
  
 _“Thank you.”_  
  
 _She shrugged, “It was nothing.”_  
  
 _“No.” Something in his voice had her staring into his eyes that were suddenly burning with an intensity that surprised her. “It was everything.”_  
  
 _“Do you want to join us?” His sister asked and Lyle wasn’t the only one looking at her in shock._  
  
 _She shook her head, “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” She denied, but Lyle was already shaking his own._  
  
 _“It wouldn’t be an intrusion at all. Besides, anyone who’s nice to my sister is someone worth knowing.” He said casually, but her breath suddenly seemed stuck in her throat._  
  
 _“Please?” His sister asked and the wide, hopeful look had her agreeing to lunch with the Spaulding siblings._  
  
 _It was when they were standing in the elevator, Lyle and Marielena on either side of the girl that she spoke again._  
  
 _“My name’s Maya.”_   
  
After that Marielena and Maya practically became inseparable. She was there when Maya was having good days and bad days, where the bad days seemed to borderline on just downright awful. She was there when Maya relapsed when even though she received the job at Google, pressure from her mom about her grades and her love life with the added stress of exams, got to be just too much. She was there when Maya moved out of her mother’s home in New York to an apartment that she and Lyle would share. She was there when Maya received her one year chip and her two year chip and she would be there when she got her third year.  
  
So, when she noticed that Maya was squirming and fidgeting, she knew something was up. It might not be to the point where she had to talk to Lyle about a possible relapse, but she was worried that something had set her off towards that direction.  
  
She was also flipping her two year chip between her fingers.   
  
Maya only ever did that when something set her off balance and she didn’t know how to regain it.  
  
It would seem that Marielena would have to do some digging.


	7. 00000111

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parsons makes a bold move on Maya and Lyle is there to pick up the pieces. Stuart and Neha have it out about why she doesn't like Maya.

She hasn’t been to Lyle’s office in a week.

It was hard, but mostly strange. She never really noticed how much time she spent in her brother’s office until she was actively avoiding it. Going there, being in his comforting presence soothed away the demons of her past and on a particularly bad day it reminded her that she was indeed loved and worth something to someone.

It wasn’t even that she was avoiding Lyle because she wasn’t. Whatever her issues was with him had been cleared up, but it was that she didn’t know how she would handle dealing with seeing Stuart after his awful attempt to explain his actions.

She gave in after a really bad day.

It was a little after two in the afternoon and her morning had been filled with meetings and some last minute touches to the new layout for the store. She had just finished giving a second year Googler the job of putting everything together, with the promise of letting her know when it was done, when Julian had asked her to come to his office.

She tensed both from the invitation and from the sympathetic looks she was getting from her female co-workers, who had been on the receiving end of his unwanted flirtations.

Stiffly entering his office, where the blinds were covering the glass walls, she eyed the man like he was about to attack at any moment.

“Come sit down Maya. Please.” He said waving a hand towards one of the chairs in front of his glass desk. Cautiously, slowly she sat down and a knot twisted in her stomach when he sat in the other chair and not behind his desk.

“Was there a problem with the report on our progress Mr. Parsons?” She asked, keeping her tone professional.

He waved a hand dismissively, “No. No. Everything looks good. In fact it would seem that you and your team are ahead of schedule.” He noted the pride in his voice would be welcomed from anyone, but coming from him it made her skin itch unpleasantly.

“We’ve been working hard and only had a few minor hiccups.” She said thinking back to the beginning of last week when the issue with formatting came up. Between the spare moments she had during orientation and the few hours the next day, she had been able to fix it fairly easily.

“Yes. I just wanted to tell you that you’ve been doing a wonderful job on this project and with your past ones as well.” He praised.

She smiled at him tightly, “Thank you, but really it’s been a team effort.”

He shook his head, leaning forward and placing a hand on her knee. She froze at the contact. “You’re modest.” His thumb was rubbing small circles on the inside of her knee, but she couldn’t move away.

“I’m honest.”

He laughed, squeezing her knee. “Of course. Now, how about we celebrate with lunch? I know this wonderful Italian place just a few minutes from here and they make amazing lasagna and their wine selection is out of this world.” He suggested.

She cleared her throat, hoping her voice wasn’t going to crack as she spoke, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that would be appropriate.” She watched as his face suddenly twisted in annoyance, the hand on her knee moving to grip her thigh tightly. She held in the gasp, thankful she decided to wear jeans today.

“You know, Maya, at first this playing hard to get was attractive, but now it’s just getting annoying.” He said harshly as he stood up. She breathed a small sigh of relief, but gasped audibly when he gripped her biceps and pulled her up to him, so that she was pressed up against him.

“I don’t know what gave you the impression that I wanted something more from you, Mr. Parsons, but I can assure you that I was not playing hard to get.” She spat out as she tried to remove herself from his hold.

“Don’t lie now. I could tell from the way you dressed, those short skirts and the tight tops that showed your curves and your smooth skin. The breathy way you would say my name or the hooded look in your eyes.” He whispered to in her ear. She shuddered in repulsion at the feel of his hot, moist breath on her skin.

“Get your hands off me.”

He tightened his grip and she just knew that bruises were going to be there by the end of the night.

“This is sexual harassment. I’ll have you fired for this.” She said and he only chuckled, his lips skimming up the column of her throat. Tears started to form behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

“I’ll just tell them that you came on to me. It’ll be your word against mine and,” he paused, pulling back as he gave her mocking sympathetic smile, “who are they going believe? You-a third year employee that is easily replaceable- or me? The head of one of the biggest departments in Google.”

She didn’t say anything, knowing that what he was saying was true.

Who would believe her?

“Exactly.” He breathed before slamming his mouth onto hers.

She struggled; she fought like hell, pushing at his chest, trying to claw at him. He in turned just took and took and took, her fighting seemingly egging him on further. It wasn’t until a flashback of her sophomore year came to her that she found a way to be free of him.

_Her arms were pushing against his chest, slapping and digging her nails into him. She needed to get away. She needed be back in the safety of her dorm or hell even at her childhood home, where her mother was._

_He tore the flimsy material of her top away from her torso, leaving her in her jeans and black bra. He roughly held her wrists above her head as he kissed his way down her throat._

_It was when he started fumbling with her belt that she reacted._

_She lifted a knee instinctively, hitting him right in the groin. He released her instantly, stepping away from as he covered himself hoping to ease the pain in any way._

She blinked and she was back at Google and her boss was on the ground leaning heavily against one of the chairs as he curled himself in a ball.

She didn’t even think about it, rushing out of the office, passed her started co-workers, some of them calling out her name. She didn’t know that a couple of them headed to their department head’s office to see him covering himself as his face was covered in small scratches from her nails.

She didn’t bother waiting for the elevator, deciding to take the stairs to the one place where she knew she would be safe.

Lyle’s office.

* * *

 

Maya wasn’t the only one affected by the lack of contact at the office between them.

She wasn’t the only one who took comfort in the safety of his presence. He always took in the reassurance of her breathing or small chatter of random things or their bickering. He clung to them so tightly to reminded himself that she was there well and alive, with him. That she made it through one more day.

Lyle knew that Maya still had some issues to work out even if she had been clean for two years; he knew that the memories from the time in her life still haunted her on occasion and that she was still fighting to survive and live her life.

He could still remember the crippling fear he felt when he got the call that his sister was in the hospital from overdosing on a bad batch of cocaine.

He never wanted to feel like that again.

There was never a doubt in his mind, when he requested some time off, citing that it was a family emergency. They didn’t question it, but they didn’t like that he had been gone for so long.

Three months.

Three long, grueling, crying, screaming, curse filled months of watching his baby sister go through the harsh reality of rehab. The withdrawals to the point of sickness, the crying for their dad with no mention of their mother, screaming that she needed a hit just to make it through the day, and the cursing that she hated him for making her do this and that she would never forgive him and she wanted him to go away, go back to California, back to where he left her all alone with no one, but herself, a father, who loved them dearly, but was never there and mother, who never cared about anything more the appearances.

And then she went one day with none of things happening and a second day. A third. And a fourth.

And she was slowly piecing together those shatter parts that life had dealt her and he watched as his sister, the one person that he loved more than anything else in the world, become someone stronger.

She became a survivor.

There were days that were still bad, especially after she left rehab, where she came to visit him for the summer, hoping to get away from the demons. She attended meetings and was able to catch up in school online.

He didn’t know how many times he caught her staring a bag of white powder that she carried with her.

She said she wanted to see if she could go without the temptation of it.

He hated that he didn’t believe her.

The day she met Marielena she flushed it down the toilet and every day since then, he thanked god for bringing her into his sister’s life.

When she interviewed for the internship at Google, he was both proud and wary when she told them point blank that she was a recovering drug addict, but that coding and programming helped her keep her mind focus and off the drugs and that she had been four months clean.

It was after that he met Robert Chetty.

The older man was obvious in his reluctance in accepting his sister into the program, but he still took Lyle out to lunch and asked what he thought.

_“Mr. Spaulding, do you think that it would a smart idea to let your sister, recovering drug addict, into a program?” The man asked as he casually took a sip of his water._

_While he was nervous being in the presence of the man, he stared him right in the eye, defending his sister. “I’m not going to lie to you, sir. My sister had made mistakes in her life, but she’s trying to ratify that. After she overdosed, she went to rehab and the court ordered her there only for a month, she stayed for three. She wanted a better life. She wanted to be more than what she had become.” He told him seriously._

_He took a deep breath before continuing, “She’s been staying with me since she got out and she’s been going to meetings and her school is letting her catch up what she missed over the summer online. When she has a bad day, she calls her sponsor, who is also a programmer, and they go over coding while they talk about whatever set her off.”_

_“My sister is one of the strongest people I have ever known and I am so proud of her. She’s smart and bright and she can bring a light to anyone who hides in the darkness, despite having her own dark cloud above her.”_

_“So, yes, Mr. Chett_ y, I think it is a smart idea to accept her into the program.”

She had received a personal acceptance e-mail from Chetty the next day.

She never knew that Lyle had talk to him.

* * *

Lyle had just entered his office with the others behind him when he spotted her.

She was on the couch that she loved so much, curled into a tight ball in the corner. Her face was buried in her knees and he could see that her shoulders were shaking. He tensed when he saw the forming bruises on her arms. She was mumbling something over and over again, but it was her hand, flipping a familiar coin, that had him knowing that something happened.

Something seriously wrong happened.

He was by her side instantly, forgetting that his team was in the room with them and was staring at the scene with wide eyes. He didn’t realize that Stuart, who he had been giving hell since he found out what he said to Maya, was looking at her with such an intense worry that on any normal occasion he would have called him out on it.

“Maya?” He called out softly, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. He snatched it way when she flinched violently. “Maya, what happened?” He asked, concern seeping into his voice.

She gripped the coin tighter as if she was reassuring herself.

He took a deep breath, hating for what he was about to do. _“Maya!”_ He snapped loudly, his heart squeezing when she winced again, but it did the trick as her head shot up.

She had tears running down her face.

Lyle moved so that he was in kneeling in front of her and he slowly brought his hands up and covered hers. She tensed, but didn’t remove them.

“Maya. It’s me. Okay, you’re safe. It’s Lyle. Everything is going to be okay.” He reassured her softly, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles on her wrists.

She blinked at him.

“I’m sorry.” She rasped, voice cracking from her tears. He shook his head and arms were suddenly around him and he wrapped her up in his, holding her close, hoping to protect her from the monsters she still faced.

He pressed a hard kiss to her temple, breathing in the familiar coconut and lime shampoo that she uses, as the scent slowly calmed his racing heart. “You have nothing to be sorry about. Do you understand me? _Nothing._ ” He pledged to her as she started sobbing again. He carefully maneuvered so that he was on the couch and he cradled her to him.

“What’s going on?” He heard Yo-Yo ask someone and looked up instantly, having completely forgotten about them.

He saw Neha open her mouth to say something and he tensed wondering if she was going to make a crack about his sister, but surprisingly it was Stuart that shot her a look that stopped her from saying anything.

“Guys, let’s leave them alone.” Billy told them quietly and he gave the older man a grateful look. “Let’s grab some ice cream.”

The others looked like they didn’t want to leave, but Billy gave them a pointed expression that had them reconsidering and they quietly shuffled out of the office. He closed his eyes, sighing in relief now that they were alone.

Someone cleared their throat softly and his eyes flew opened to see Stuart standing in front of him, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot and he could see him clenching his hand around his phone.

“What kind of ice cream does she like?” The boy asked as he watched Maya continue crying into his shoulder, she was no longer sobbing, but she was still shaking and he tighten his hold on her.

He was tempted to decline that offer, but Maya had pulled back so that she could look up at Stuart.

Something flashed in the other boy’s eyes as he took in the broken girl before him. Her hair was in disarray and some strands were sticking her wet face, her blue eyes were bloodshot and shining wetly as tears continued to slowly fall, her nose was running and she would let out the occasion hiccup.

She looked like a mess.

And Stuart didn’t seem to care as he gazed down at her, waiting for an answer.

“Ch-chocolate Chip-ip Cookie D-dough.” She said, peered up at him in curiosity. Lyle bit his lip to stop himself from asking why she answered him.

Stuart nodded before looking at him silently asking if he wanted anything, but left after Lyle shook his head.

Lyle stared after him wondering if there was more to the kid than he thought.

* * *

Stuart couldn’t get her broken expression out of his mind.

He hasn’t seen her since their argument a week ago and then there she was in her brother’s office, crying away her demons as she clutched something in her hand.

He had to wonder what had happened.

_Why do you even care?_ A voice asked as they approached the ice cream vendor that was outside.

_I don’t,_ he told himself firmly as he watched his team order their ice cream with Nick paying for them, _but even I wouldn’t ignore a crying girl_.

He thought back to when she looked up at him, eyes filled with tears, face wet and hair sticking to her, but she had looked up at him, daring him to say something. To comment on her moment of weakness.

He couldn’t.

He didn’t want too.

He just wanted to know if she wanted ice cream.

“Stuart?” Nick’s voice pulled him back and he glanced at him emotionlessly.

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to get any?” Nick asked, waving his hand towards the vendor.

He nodded, “I’ve got mine.” He said, pulling out his wallet, but Nick shook his head.

“No seriously. Let me pay for mine.” Stuart didn’t know why he was insisting on paying for his and Maya’s, but he wasn’t in the mood to question it just yet.

Nick backed off and grabbed his rocky road.

“I’ll get a moose track and a dish of cookie dough please.” He ordered, pulling a ten out and handing it to the man. He ignored the confused looks from Neha and Yo-Yo and the knowing ones from Nick and Billy.

“Hungry?” Yo-Yo asked innocently and he shrugged, not answering.

They started to head back to into the building once everyone had their dessert and as Stuart ate his moose tracks the dish of cookie dough chilled his hand making the person who it was for stay front and center in his mind.

_I’m just doing something nice for someone. It’s no big deal._ He told himself as the others started talking about what they had witnessed between their team manager and his sister.

Neha scoffed at something Yo-Yo said, “Please, she was probably just upset about the layout. I heard she was leading the team on the project and it was probably becoming too much.” He heard the disdain in her voice and he bit his tongue to stop himself from lashing out.

He saw Nick shake his head, “Nah, that’s not it. Didn’t you see the bruises that were on her arms? Someone did that to her; probably in the last few hours from the looks of them.”

He did notice them. He had clenched his phone tight in his hand that he wondered if he was going to break it.

He didn’t like the idea of someone hurting her.

“What was she holding?” Yo-Yo asked.

He thought back to the object in her hand. It looked small like maybe the size of a poker chip, but he couldn’t tell.

“Something important or at least meaningful.” Billy answered.

“Who cares?” Neha muttered and for some reason Stuart snapped as he tossed his cone in a nearby trash can before whirling around.

“What the fuck is your problem?” He hissed making her step back having not expecting an attack.

She looked at him in confusion and that just pissed him off even more. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been making digs at Maya since you met her. What the hell did she ever do to you?” He snarled as he took a step towards her. He felt Billy step up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him back.

“Because I can’t stand people like her.” Neha spat at him. “And I’m surprised you’re defending her! You’re the one who said it first.”

“People like her?” He repeated bewildered. “Said _what_ first?”

“Orientation. After the meeting? You weren’t the only one who forgot something.” She told him and Stuart froze as he remembered what she was referring too.

_Sleeping with your boss? Yeah, I would say so._

She had been there when he accused Maya of sleeping her way into a job.

Somehow he knew that was going to bite him in the ass.

“And I was wrong.”

She scoffed again, “Yeah, okay.” She said sarcastically.

“You don’t know her.” He threw at her.

“Neither do you!” She cried out and he was surprised at the emotion in her voice.

“Okay.” Nick stepped between them as they glared at each other. “Why don’t we just calm down?” He suggested.

He ignored him, “I know a lot more than you do!” He snapped at her.

“Please, you just think she’s a great set of tits.” She snarled at him. He had to step away as he stared at her looking like she had slapped him. She had just insulted whatever feelings he had for Maya.

Yes, he noticed her physical beauty the moment he laid eyes on her at orientation, but it was the fire and defiance and the intelligence in her eyes, the stubborn set of her shoulders, her flirtation nature when she was in a good mood and her broken vulnerability that had him fascinated.

“You don’t know what I think.” Stuart whispered strangely calm. He didn’t bother waiting for one of them to say something as he turned and stalked away.

The ice cream was just starting to melt when he handed it to Maya a few minutes later.

This time he couldn’t ignore the way his heart started to race when she smiled at him.

_Fuck,_ he thought to himself as she ate her ice cream while giving Lyle reassuring looks, who looked like he wanted to hit something.

He liked her.


	8. 00001000

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A complaint is made, an important coin is missing and Maya tries to deal with some intense feelings.

Lyle was getting on her nerves.   
  
She had told him what happened after Stuart had left and he was understandably furious, especially when she told him that her boss had been hitting on her long before the attack today.   
  
She could still taste him on her mouth and it made her want to gag.   
  
She closed her eyes with tears still clinging to her lashes. She was much calmer now, no longer sobbing, but a few tears still leaked out and she brushed them away as she spoke, “Lyle, I’ll tell someone. I just,” she paused, struggling to find the right words, “I need to forget for a moment. Okay, it brought back some memories.”  
  
Her brother shut his mouth as he grabbed her free hand in his. She relaxed at the comforting touch, leaning her head on his shoulder.   
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked; hurt etching in his tone at the   
thought that she couldn’t trust him with this.   
  
Maya stared at the spot Stuart had been standing when he asked what kind of ice cream she liked. She took in the knowledge that he didn’t ask any personal questions with a grateful eye.   
  
“Because all it was really bad flirting before now.” She told him honestly, “I never expected him to do this.”  
  
He didn’t say anything as he stared straight ahead. She sighed, poking him in the side causing him to squirm away. “I’m sorry, Lyle.”   
  
Lyle grabbed the hand that was clutching her two year sobriety chip; she took in the familiar weight of the object. It was no longer cool, but warm from the heat of her hand, but she let the meaning of it wash over her, reminding her she didn’t need the drugs to make the pain or the memory go away.   
  
“Are you sure?” He asked seriously, moving brown eyes to search into her blue ones. She stared at him, letting him figure out that she was no longer feeling out the edge of that line.   
  
She never wanted to go back to that life.   
  
Maya squeezed his hand reassuringly.   
  
“I’m not there.” She told him and knew that he would understand her meaning.   
  
He relaxed, but he still looked like he wanted to hit something.   
  
She couldn’t comment on it as Stuart walked back in with a dish in his hand.   
  
He handed it to her as she placed her coin on the table and the look on his face when she smiled up at him had her stomach twisting pleasantly.   
  
“Thank you.” She said after swallowing a bit.   
  
He shrugged, “It’s just ice cream.” “I wasn’t thanking you for the ice cream.” She told him, making both him and Lyle look at her curiously. “It was for not asking any questions.”  
  
“Not my business why you decided to have an emotional breakdown in your brother’s office.” He said plainly and she shook her head at him in annoyance.  
  
“Why do you do that?” She bit out as Lyle stole a bite of her ice cream; she passed it to him letting him have some.  
  
“Do what?”   
  
“Brush everything to the side like it’s nothing. I’m showing you gratitude and you’re acting like you didn’t have a care in the world.”   
  
“Not all of us can deal with our emotions up front.” He pointed out.   
  
She let out a bitter laugh as the office door opened and in walked someone she didn’t recognize. “Trust me when I say that I’m an emotional fuck up.” She informed him.   
  
Lyle stood up walking over to the woman. Stuart stared at her, trying to figure out what she meant as he moved to sit at one of the desks. He chose the one right in front of her.   
  
“Can I help you?” Lyle asked the woman, making her look up.   
  
She was tall, thin woman, who looked to be in her mid-thirties. Her blond hair was pulled up in a severe bun. Thing, rectangular glasses framed her brown eyes. She was wearing a dark blue suit with a skirt with black sensible heels. She was holding a file in her hand.   
  
She looked completely out of place in Google, which meant one of two things.   
  
She’s was either from a) Legal or b) Human Resources.   
  
Her bet was on b.   
  
“Maya Spaulding?” The woman asked redundantly as she looked at her, taking in her dried, tear stained face, messy hair, bloodshot eyes, and the bruises on her arm.   
  
“Yes?”   
  
“I’m Monica Carmichael from Human Resources.”  
  
Maya’s hands began to sweat as she nervously stood up to stand next to her brother. She chewed on her lip for moment as she worried that Julian somehow managed to turn this around to make him look like the victim.  
  
“What can I do for Human Resources?”   
  
“A complaint against your boss, Julian Parsons, was filed an hour ago citing the he allegedly forced himself on you in his office earlier today.” She heard Stuart suck in a breath.   
  
It wasn’t against her.  
  
Someone filed it against Julian.   
  
“Oh?”   
  
“Did this actually happen?”   
  
She swallowed thickly, somehow not able to get the words out. She could see the rest of the team make their way back to the office. When the door opened they paused taking in the scene.  
  
Lyle was standing protectively in front of his arms crossed his chest. She had at some point gripped his arm to anchor herself. Stuart was staring at her intensely, eyes scanning the bruises and anymore injuries that she could possibly have. All while a strict looking woman stood in front of her.   
  
“Yes.” She choked out with a small nod. “Yes, he did force himself on me.” She could hear the others gasp at her words and she wasn’t ashamed of what she just admitted in front of them. Embarrassed beyond belief, but not ashamed that she got out of there.   
  
The woman nodded and suddenly her whole demeanor changed. She had softened her gaze, relaxed her posture and gave her a reassuring smile.   
  
“We’re going to need you to stop by the HR offices to help us gather some more evidence, but that can be done at later time. Why don’t you head home and get some rest?” Monica had suggested kindly and she agreed.   
  
“That’s sounds like a good idea.” She admitted feeling strangely tired with it being only being about 3:30 in the afternoon.  
  
She could really use a nap.   
  
“Come on, I’ll take you home.” She heard Lyle mutter, but she shook her head, putting a hand on his arm to stop him.   
  
“No. Lyle, stay here and get some work done.” She said even as her hand tightened her grip.   
  
“Not happening, Maya.”   
  
“Please.” She pleaded quietly, “I just need to be alone right now.”   
  
His jaw clenched and she could see it in his eyes that he thought that this way a bad idea. “I’ll have Marielena take me home and she can check the house for anything.” She reasoned and she saw him softening at the mention of her best friend. “You can even turn on the GPS on my phone if you want, but I’m not going to,” She glanced around them office as everyone watched the two of them. _“break.”_ She said eventually.  
  
He was quiet as he considered her terms before holding a hand out. Sighing in relief, she handed him her phone and watching with an impassive eye, but a heavy heart as he activated the GPS. _He’s doing it because he loves you, because he’s only worried about, he doesn’t want you to relapse again. Not after everything you achieved so fare,_ she told herself determinedly.   
  
Maya took it back once he was done. She gave him a small, sad smile as she walked over to him.   
  
Placing a small comforting kiss on his cheek, “I’m not there.” She whispered calmingly.   
  
“Doesn’t mean I won’t worry.”   
  
She stepped back and gave the others a slightly embarrassed smile. “Sorry for getting in the way of your plans.” She apologized.   
  
Billy and Nick shook their head. “Don’t worry about it.” Nick reassured her. “We get that you were on the edge.” She tensed at his words as she eyed him curiously.   
  
They didn’t elaborate and she didn’t know if she was grateful or not for that.   
  
“I’ll see you later.” She told Lyle as she walked out.   
  
She didn’t realize that she had left her coin on the table or that someone had spotted it and quickly grabbed it.

* * *

**Few Hours Later**   
  
Marielena had left about twenty minutes after of arriving, doing the usual search of the entire apartment. Even though it was her idea, it still sucked that it resulted in this just so she could a few hours by herself after the attack. Her breath caught because _holy shit, she was attack at work. Her boss attacked her._   
  
Her friend even went through her purse and her work bag and it was her that informed her that it was missing.   
  
“Maya, I thought you kept your sobriety coin in your purse?” Marielena asked as she continued to search the bags.   
  
“I do, but if it’s a bad day then it’s usual in my pocket.” Her hand ghosted over her pocket where it would be hidden from everyone, but still the weight of it was reassuring.   
  
She froze when her fingers didn’t meet the soothing metal.   
  
_Where is it? Where’s my coin?_ She panicked as she started patting her other pockets, hoping that she had placed it one of them.   
  
“Maya?” Marielena had called out.   
  
Her breath was stuck in her throat as she rushed to where her friend was at; roughly grabbing the purse out of her hand and proceeded to dump the contents out on her table. She searched through the spilled items as her heart clenched at the thought it missing.   
  
Marielena placed a gently hand on her arm. “Maya, what’s wrong?”  
  
“It’s gone.” She whispered, sudden tears threatening to fall. “My coin is gone.”   
  
“Did you leave it at the office?”   
  
She paused as the memory of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and warm whiskey eyes came to mind. Falling into the chair, she closed her eyes remembering that she had set it down when Stuart had given her the ice cream.   
  
“It’s in Lyle’s office.” She told her brokenly.   
  
“Hey. It’s okay. I’ll tell him that you left it there and I’m sure he’ll bring it home.” Marielena spoke softly.   
  
She nodded, not wanting to speak.   
  
“I better go.”   
  
“Bye.” She choked out.  
  
After Marielena had left it took about fifteen minutes to stop berating herself for leaving her coin at work and for her to head to her room and change into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.   
  
Grabbing a beer from the fridge, she ended up on the couch, bringing her legs up to hug them to her chest, much like how she was when Lyle had found her. She took a deep, shuddering breath as the events of the past few hours slammed into her.   
  
Tears were falling, but she wasn’t sobbing as she processed the news.   
  
Her boss forced himself on her in his office where anyone could’ve walked in.   
  
She fought back as a past memory had assaulted her.   
  
Someone filled a complaint against him on her behalf.   
  
She fled to Lyle hoping his presence would help with the sudden need to make the pain go away.   
  
Stuart wasn’t that bad of a guy when it came to personal demons.   
  
She was too tired to ignore the way her heart had picked up at the thought of the man. It was comforting and welcomed to simply think about a man and what he made her feel because she couldn’t deny it anymore, even if she wanted to.   
  
He made her feel something.   
  
And that something was strong and could have the potential to be completely consuming. She thought back to the intense and focused look in his eyes when he was working the debugging challenge and what she had told Lyle a week ago about wanting to take him home and have her way with him.  
  
She imagine him putting that same focus and intensity on the way he would move calculating hands down her body to caress, soothe and cup every inch of her skin. The way he would move those full and distracting lips down her neck, over her collarbone and finally to her chest. His whiskey eyes deepening to a dark rum as they seared into her as he moved inside her. Stretching her in the most pleasant ways.   
  
She could picture herself running her hand through his hair after whipping that beanie off, feeling the strands tickle her palm. She would be kissing, licking and nipping at his skin on his neck, his shoulders and chest. Feels those sinewy muscles react to her touch as she touched his back soothingly. Her legs would wrap around him tightly and she would throw her head back, screaming his name as she came.   
  
He would tense and pick up speed, losing the erotic rhythm they had set. His lips would be everywhere; her chest, neck, lips, forehead. He would come with a groan of her own name and he would eventually collapse on her, his weight welcomed and comforting.   
  
She bit her lip, blinking back to reality. Her skin felt clammy, her blood to warm to the touch and her heart was beating wildly in her chest as she breathed shallowly.  
  
Yes, she imagined that sex with Stuart would be overwhelmingly shattering. But it wasn’t just sex that had her heart hammering. She could imagine waking up on a Sunday morning wrapped in his arms and just kiss and cuddle innocently. They would sit on the couch with the TV playing quietly in the background as they would eat cereal, poking fun at each other and steal kisses. Mostly steal kisses. Or they would stay in bed and sleep till noon or they would make love well into the afternoon, only leaving the bedroom for food.   
  
She could see him hanging out with Lyle and Marielena, who were finally together, and they would geek over the newest software update or the latest episode in Doctor Who (he seemed like a Doctor Who fan). She could see herself forcing him to come outside as it rained and make him dance with her; he would pull her close to keep them warm because wearing coats in the middle of dancing in the rain was ridiculous.   
  
She could see a life with him that was laughter and smiles and fights and making up and so much feeling that her heart nearly swelled at the thought.   
  
_Oh god,_ she thought with blinding panic, _this is getting dangerous. This is very dangerous._   
  
Because she could see herself falling for him so hard.   
  
Because she could see herself telling him about her past and him attending her anniversary meetings.   
  
Because the thought of that last one, the thought of him accepting her and becoming an anchor for her, petrified her immensely.  
  
Maya reached up and scratched her arm wincing when pain shot through it. Looking down, she remembered the bruises that Julian had left on her. Marking her.   
  
All thoughts of Stuart and whatever feelings vanished as she rushed to the bathroom as her ice cream and beer came back up. The tears fell harder and quiet sobs filled the bathroom as she blindly reached up to flush the toilet. She wiped at her mouth, leaning against the tub.   
  
He had marked her. Branded her like she was cattle.   
  
Her stomach rolled again and her fingers itched to grab her phone and call her old dealer.   
  
Never mind that he was New York.   
  
She didn’t know how long she stayed there with the cool tile seeping into her bones and the pressure of the tub pressing into her back uncomfortably. But she was startled out of the numb state she was in when there was a knock on the door.   
  
Carefully standing up, she walked out of the bathroom making sure not to look in the mirror as she passed.   
  
The knocking kept coming and her irritation kept growing. The glare that she was wearing melted away into shock when she threw the door opened.   
  
“Neha?”


	9. 00001001

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya and Neha clear the air and the next day she talks to HR. Maya breaks down to Marielena and then takes Stuart out to lunch.

Maya stared at the other girl stunned that she was here. At her apartment. Where she _lived._

_Why was she here?_

“Hi.” Neha said nervously, her hands wringing together.

She stepped out of the apartment confusedly looking down the hall, not really knowing what she was looking for, but the disappointment she felt had her wondering if it was because Stuart wasn’t there instead.

“How did you know where I live?” She asked after a moment, confusion still clouding her senses.

Neha lifted her phone, “The employee directory came up when I googled it.”

Her brows furrowed, “It doesn’t show addresses.”

The girl shrugged, “Once I saw the land line number I looked it up in the white pages.”

“Why?”

Neha started to fidget as she thought about her answer before reaching into her bag. As she searched for something Maya eyed her cautiously, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. _She doesn’t have it. She doesn’t have it. She does not have it,_ she repeated in her head.

She really hoped that out of all people that Neha didn’t find it.

She’d rather not get talked down to again.

Finally, Neha pulled something out of her purse and held out her hand. A small familiar looking green coin rested innocently in her hand. While the relief was there at the sight of it, she felt a flare of annoyance.

She snatched up the coin, the weight of it anchoring her and she felt the pressure ease just a little bit.

“Thanks.” She bit out.

Neha stood there still, “Two years?” She asked softly, “That’s amazing Maya.”

“I know.”

“I’m sure you worked hard.” She said and the combination of the words and the knowing and pitying tone in her voice caused her to snap.

“Don’t act like you know what I’m going through.” Maya snapped and Neha stepped back startled.

“I-I wasn’t.” She started, “I mean I could only imagine what you went through.”

Maya shook her head, “Would you just stop? Just stop talking okay.” Maya took a deep breath, “You can’t imagine what I went through. No one can expect for other addicts. Everyone always thinks that they know what they would do or how they would deal with it, but they can’t because they never had to deal with an addiction.”

“I know that. I didn’t mea-”

“Yes, you did, Neha. Don’t lie. It’s not becoming.” Maya sneered.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.” Neha apologized.

She let a sharp bark of laughter, “Insult me? Since I’ve met you all you’ve been doing is insulting me and I’ve never done shit to you.”

Neha flinched, “I know and I’m sorry.”

Maya stared at her with a hard look in her eyes. “To be honest Neha, I just don’t care anymore.”

“I was jealous.” Neha blurted out.

She didn’t say anything, but gave her a look that said _and the warrants being a bitch?_

“You’ve been here for three years already and we’re the same age and I overheard you and Stuart on orientation when he accused of sleeping with your boss and I believed it.” Neha explained.

Maya tensed at the mention of the day. “So, I assume that you didn’t hear me set him straight right after that?”

Neha nodded, “I walked way before you could. I didn’t want to listen to any excuses that you came up with.”

“So, what changed your mind?”

“Today. When that woman came from Human Resources and then I saw the coin.” She shrugged, “I realized that there is a lot more about you then I know.”

Maya let out a breath, “There is, Neha. You really don’t know what I’ve been through in my life. So, the next time you meet someone and overhear something, try not to pass judgment on them straight away because there’s a pretty good change that there is more to the story.”

“I know and I am sorry, Maya.”

“I know and I accept it, but why do I have the feeling that it also had to deal with Stuart?”

Neha blushed slightly, “I thought he was cute the first time I saw him and I enjoyed arguing with him more than I should.”

She softened realizing what the other girl was saying, “You formed a crush on him.”

The Indian girl nodded, “Yeah, but I know nothing is going to come of it.”

“You don’t know that.” She pressed, the words leaving a bitter taste in mouth.

“Yeah, I do. I’ve seen you two around each other and there’s something there.”

Maya shook her head, “There’s nothing between me and Stuart.” The thoughts from earlier flashed in her mind and she shifted uncomfortably.

Neha laughed, “Yeah, there is and you know it.”

“Whatever you say.”

“I should probably go,” Neha said, “but do you think we could start over? Or at least try?” She asked hesitantly.

She gave the girl a small smile. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“Great!” Neha exclaimed, “I’ll see you later.”

“See ya.”

Maya watched as Neha walked away. She closed the door when the girl reached the elevator. Shaking her head, she asked herself one thing as she smoothed her thumb over her coin.

_What just happened?_

* * *

**Next Day**

She couldn’t do it.

The opportunity to finally tell was here and yet she couldn’t do it.

Maya paced back and forth, eyeing the door every so often. Every time she finally talked herself into opening the door, she chickened out once her hand was on the handle and she’d repeat the process.

She’s been doing this for the pass twenty minutes.

“Come on, Maya. You can do this.” She muttered to herself, stopping to stare at the door; her heart pounding on the words.

**Human Resources**

_Oh god, I can’t do this,_ she thought anxiously, her throat closing up.

“Maya?” A familiar voice called out. Jumping, she whipped around to see Stuart staring at her, concern shining in his whiskey eyes.

The memory of her fantasy flashed before her and all she saw was dark rum and all she could feel was pleasure that she hadn’t experienced in a while.

“Maya?” He asked again, pulling her back to reality. She blinked and looked up to see him standing much closer. She flushed, shoving those thoughts in a deep dark corner in the back of her mind to never be seen again.

“Ye-” her voice cracked and she cleared her throat embarrassedly, “yeah?”

He eyed her worriedly and she could feel her heart swell, “Are you okay?”

“Of course!” She exclaimed loudly making her wince and he raised an eyebrow. She chuckled in defeat, eyes once again returning to the door. “No. I’m really not.”

His own eyes went to the door and understanding came to him. “Hey,” he said softly, a hand resting on her arm. He gave a gently tug to make her face him. “It’s going to be okay.”

“How do you know?” She asked uncertainly.

“Because it was filed against him, wasn’t it?” He asked rhetorically, but she nodded anyways, “Then you just need to tell them what had happened.”

“I don’t know if I can do that, Stuart.” She whispered.

He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, “You can.”

She looked up at him curiously, “What make you think that?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know you, but from what I’ve seen you have a strength that can get you through anything. So, go in there,” he pointed to the door, “tell them what happened and get the asshole fired.”

Maya laughed light, looking up at him with a smile both on her lips and in her eyes as his words gave her a confidence she hadn’t felt lately.

With a nod of her head, she walked over to the door, but she paused before she opened it. She turned around and walked back up to him.

“Maya-” She cut him off, pressing her lips to his cheek. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest that she was sure that he could hear it. She pulled back slightly, lips just inches away from his cheek. Her spearmint breath wafted over his face.

“Thank you.” She whispered looking up at him with gratitude in her eyes. His eyes locked onto hers, boring into them with an intensity that her breath caught.

“You’re welcome.”

She gave him a small smile before pulling away and confidently walking through the door.

_She could do this._

* * *

**2 Hours Later**   
**Marielena’s Dance Studio**

The dance studio was empty when Maya walked in.

Marielena stopped dancing when she spotted her friend in the mirrors. Quickly rushing to the stereo, she paused the music.

“Maya, what’s wrong?” She asked taking in her appearance. The black and green checkered over shirt and the white v-neck tee-shirt were slightly rumple as though she had kept fidgeting and nervously played with the fabrics. The black beret was off centered. Her skinny black denim covered legs were shaking slightly; making the heels of her green high top Chuck Taylors hit the floor softly.

Her blue eyes were outlined with black eyeliner and a small amount of mascara; they were also shining with unshed tears. Her lips that were once shining with a pink lip gloss were now being chewed on.

Maya shook her head taking a deep shuddering breath before promptly bursting into tears.

Marielena quickly gathered her friend in her arms, providing any comfort that she could offer. Glancing around the room, she spotted a small sofa couch in the corner. She gently coaxed Maya that direction.

Once seated, she let Maya cry out the tears. She didn’t say anything, just rubbed her back and held her like she would a small child.

A few minutes later, the sobbing faded out, leaving Maya a hiccupping mess. They pulled away from each other, though Marielena made sure to keep an arm around Maya’s shoulders.

“What happened, Maya?” She asked again.

Wiping her eyes, she smeared her eye make-up causing her to groan, “Great I look like a raccoon now.”

Marielena pulled her up and dragged her to the women’s restroom.

Maya walked to the sink, tossing her hat on the counter haphazardly and turned the sink on. She splashed cold water to her face, gently scrubbing away her make-up.

Blindly reaching for a paper towel, she spoke, “I was with Human Resources.”

Her friend stayed quiet knowing she had to get this out now or it would never would until the worst possible time.

Dabbing the towel to her ruined eye make-up she continued on, “I told them about his previous advances. About the invitations to celebratory lunches and dinner meetings, about the too casual touches and the words that said more than they meant.” She breathed deeply, no longer removing her make-up, but her fists rested on the counter as she stared down at the ground with her body tense. “I told them about what happened yesterday; how he was _proud_ ,” she spat the word, “of the work that I had accomplished and wanted to take me out, how I declined, but he just got so mad that I kept _playing hard to get,_ ” the words were laced heavily with sarcasm. “And he just wouldn’t let go or take no for an answer.”

She looked up, eyes colliding with Marielena’s in the mirror, “Why didn’t he let go?” She asked softly, her tone almost childlike.

Marielena walked up to her, resting a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, “Because he’s a creep and thinks that he can take whatever he wants and damn the consequences.”

“Why did it have to be me?” Maya asked, but Marielena heard the real question in those words.

_Why can’t things just go right for once in my life?_

She answered truthfully, “I don’t know.”

* * *

She was on her way to grab a tea to help with her headache and sore throat when she spotted them.

They stood tall, proud and tense, eyes glaring daggers at each other. They were talking quietly, though heatedly as Stuart spat something at Graham, who chuckled darkly.

Glancing around, she noticed that no one was really giving the interns any notice. Without a second thought, she quickly rushed over. When she was close enough, she almost wished she walked away as Stuart stepped closer to the English boy, eyes glittering murderously, and a hand fisting the blue dress shirt.

_“Leave her alone.”_ He hissed sharply and somehow she knew they were referring to her.

“What? Afraid she’ll come to me for comfort?” Graham questioned arrogantly. She nearly gagged at his words. _Please, I’d rather kiss Yo-Yo,_ she thought, feeling only slightly guilty about her attitude towards the socially awkward boy.

Stuart snorted, “No, because she has standards.”

She smiled to herself, a warm feeling rushing through her blood as he defended her. Usually she hated a guy fighting for her. She hadn’t needed someone to fight her battles since she was a seventeen-year-old recovering drug addict and needed her brother’s protection. But once again things just seemed to be different with Stuart and she honestly didn’t know what to make of it, but she kind of wanted to find out.

“And you think you meet them?” Graham laughed mockingly, bringing her back to reality.

The other boy shrugged, “Doesn’t matter if I do or don’t, it’s her choice on who she decides to spend time with, but I sure as hell knows that it won’t be you.”

“Please, I can get any girl that I want,” The British boy boasted, “and I will get Maya.”

She had enough of this.

She stepped forward to tell Graham off when Stuart’s words stopped her cold.

“No, I don’t think you will.” He said softly making her strain to hear. “Do you want to know how I know that?” He asked rhetorically, “Because Maya is an intelligent, beautiful, funny and caring young woman, who loves her brother and her job, and would do anything for her friends. She’s been hurt in the past and has dealt with over confident assholes like you before and knows to stay away. So, I’d just you do just that.” He spoke calmly with just a small edge to his tone, _“Stay away.”_

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him stalk away from Graham, who glaring at his back before leaving in the opposite direction.

She blinked, trying to process what exactly just happened when she felt a nudge on her arm. Startled, she looked over to see Nick giving her a concerned look.

“You okay?”

“Uh-I think so.” She said though it sounded more like question to her as her eyes went back into the direction Stuart went.

“He’s right you know.” Nick pointed out making her look over to him in confusion. He jerked his head the same way she just looking at. “Stuart. You deserve better than the Grahams of the world.”

She let out a small laugh, “Oh yeah? And just who do you think I do deserve then?”

“The Stuarts of the world seem like good guys.” He said nonchalantly.

Her heart leapt in her throat, “Yeah, I guess they do.” She whispered.

He gave her an understanding smile and a gentle push towards the court yard, “Tell him that Lyle wants to have a team meeting at 5.”

She nodded absently as she started making her way to the doors. She paused, turning around, “Thanks Nick.”

He waved her off, “It’s not a problem Maya. Now go.”

She grinned before rushing outside.

* * *

She found him heading off the campus.

She rushed to him, hoping to catch up to him.

“Stuart!” She called out causing him to tense, but he stopped and turned around. He looked surprised to see her running towards him.

“Maya?” He greeted confusedly.

She skidded to a stop in front of him, nearly tripping over her feet. She quickly grabbed his arm that he wrapped around her to steady her. Flushing at both the contact and the embarrassing stop, she cleared her throat sheepishly.

“What’s going on?” He asked giving her a searching look.

She shook her head, “No. I just,” she paused feeling a blush form on her cheeks, “I heard you and Graham.” She blurted out.

He tensed, removing his arm from her waist and stepping away from her. She nearly followed wanting him close to her.

“How much?” He bit out making her step back at his tone.

“I got there when you said I had standards.” She informed him.

He nodded curtly and she looked at him confused as to why he was reacting this way. She cautiously stepped closer to him. When he didn’t react, she continued to move closer until they were just inches away.

“Thank you,” she whispered and he turned those wonderfully sinful whiskey eyes on her, “for defending me.”

He relaxed somewhat as he nodded to her, “You’re welcome.”

She looked around suddenly, “Were you going somewhere?” She asked curiously.

“Not really. I just needed to get out of there.” He said, eyes glancing at the building behind her.

Maya lowered her eyes to his chest, not really looking as she thought. She bit her lip unknowingly drawing his attention to them and he tensed once more.

“Come with me.” She said, grabbing his hand, “I want to show you something.”

Bewildered, he stumbled as he was pulled in the direction of her car.

“Where are we going?” He asked once they were buckled in her 2013 Jeep Cherokee.

“I missed lunch. So, we are going to grab some.” She told him as she started her car.

He glanced out the window as the pulled out the parking lot.

“How do you like mac & cheese?” She asked giving him a sideways glance with a mischievous grin.

He raised an eyebrow, “What like the boxed stuff?”

She laughed with a shake of her head. “Please, I’m talking about the real deal here.” She said, “I’m about to make your world explode.”

Stuart swallowed thickly at her words, the second meaning hitting him in his gut.

_She would make his world explode?_

He didn’t doubt it for second.


	10. 00001010

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya and Stuart get to know each a little bit. The team learn what the second challenge is and Lyle talks to Stuart about Maya.

**Homeroom Mac & Cheese**   
**Oakland, California**

Maya watched as Stuart took in the restaurant; from the wooden tables and chairs to the wall made of windows to the chalkboards hanging up.

They sat down in the booth waiting for the server.

“You come all the way to Oakland just for mac and cheese?” Stuart asked as he took in the restaurant. It had cozy, anyone is welcome and we’ll know your name by the time you leave, feel to it. Just from the atmosphere he could see why she liked this place.

She shook her head, “This isn’t just your ordinary mac and cheese. This stuff is pure heaven.” She boasted, “This ruins all other mac and cheese for you. Trust me on this.”

He looked skeptical, “I doubt it.”

“Fine, don’t believe me, but I bet that you’ll think the same when we leave.” She said determinedly.

“And if you’re wrong?”

She shrugged, “Then I’ll do whatever you want.” She answered. He raised his eyebrows at the loaded statement. “But if I’m right you do whatever I want.” She bargained.

He thought it over for a moment. When the waitress arrived to their table he answered, “Deal.”

Maya beamed before ordering a glass of Dry Creek Red Wine and Stuart ordered water.

She pouted at him slightly, “Boring.”

“It’s 2 in the afternoon.” He pointed out.

“So? There’s nothing wrong with ordering a glass of wine to go with your lunch.” She explained.

“Not a wine drinker.”

“You probably never drank any alcohol before.” She teased lightly causing him to glare at her.

“I have too.” He defended.

“Oh yeah? What a beer?” She asked mockingly before shaking her head, “Doesn’t count.”

“It does too!” He exclaimed a laugh in his voice.

“Please,” She said in amusement, “everyone has a had beer by the time their sixteen. So, no Stuart it really doesn’t.”

“Oh yeah? What were you? A major party girl at sixteen then?” He shot jokingly, but the carefree expression on her face was wiped away and replaced with a guarded one.

He stopped laughing, confused at the change of emotion. “Maya?”

“Let’s just say I didn’t make the best decisions at sixteen.” She responded plainly.

Stuart gave her a searching look, trying to determine how to broach the apparent sensitive subject. “Like what?” He asked tentatively.

“I was a sixteen year old freshman at Cornell University, Stuart.” She said tightly, “I tried anything to fit in.”

He reached over and covered her hands that were in fists with both of his. Her eyes shot to meet his and she hated the sympathetic look in his eyes. She tried to pull away, but he trapped her hands by pressing lightly against her wrist.

“I can’t say that I understand what you went through because I don’t, but if you ever need someone to talk to you about I don’t anything really, you can come to me.” He told her quietly as his thumbs gently skimmed over her knuckles.

She took a deep breath, removing one of her hands from his grip and grabbed her glass of wine that the waitress just set down. Waving her away as they hadn’t figured out what they wanted, she looked at him through her lashes.

“Maybe someday.” She said eventually with a small smile that he returned. He released her hands and grabbed the menu to look it over.

“So, what’s good here?” He asked changing the subject.

Relaxing now that the heavy conversation was done, she opened her own menu. “Everything.” She said honestly.

He rolled his eyes at her answer as he grazed over the selections.

They were quiet as they decided. The silence was a comfortable one, something that she hadn’t dealt with in a while with anyone who wasn’t Lyle. She savored the feeling knowing that things were going to get hectic in the coming weeks with the investigation into Julian, her projects that she had been assigned, and with helping Chetty with the internship.

Maya glanced up, looking at Stuart over her menu. She study him for a moment and her heart pounded just like it had earlier that day as she took in his chocolate brown hair (she was right. It was spiked when he removed the beanie.), his whiskey eyes, full pink lips, and with everything that had happened today, she knew she was in trouble.

She made a mental note to talk to Chetty when they returned.

She closed the menu as the waitress came back.

“Have you decided?” Maya asked him. He glanced up and shook his head, telling her that she could order first.

“I’ll have the Mexican Mac and can I add hot peppers and spicy cauliflower, please?” She asked. The waitress nodded, giving her a smile as she wrote down the order before turning to Stuart.

“I’ll just have the Smokey Bacon Mac.” He decided, closing the menu.

The waitress wrote it down, took their menus and told them that their food would be up shortly.

They sat in a comfortable silence. Maya rested her head on her hand as she gazed out the window and Stuart watched her. She could feel the weight of his stare and she forced herself not to react.

After taking a sip of her wine, she spoke, “So, tell me Stuart, why do you want to be at Google?” She asked him curiously.

He looked startled at the question, “Why do you want to know?”

She gave him an impish smile with a shrug, “I’d like to get know my future co-worker.”

“Getting ahead of yourself aren’t you?” He asked rhetorically before shaking his head, “Beside with my team I doubt we’ll get the jobs.”

“You’re being too hard on Nick and Billy.” She said softly causing him to scoff.

“Come on, Maya. They don’t belong there.” He believed.

She sighed, almost irritated at the recurring statement. “Maybe not, but you can’t deny that they’re not _trying_.” She pointed out, “Which what they’re looking for as well. People, who are willing to try, work together as a team, and to be a part of something amazing.”

“I get it, I do, but why are they here? At Google.” He wondered out loud.

She shrugged again, “Unlike you and every other intern that’s there that simply want the job, they are two that actually _need_ it.”

“And they can’t get one anywhere else?”

“I don’t know why they choose Google, but they did.” She said, “And the interviewers obviously saw something in them to have accepted them into the program, otherwise they wouldn’t be here.”

He sighed tiredly, “Maybe, but I still say that I’m screwed out of this job.”

She looked at him curiously, “So, you don’t get the job at Google, but Stuart, I saw your file. You have gotten offers from Samsung and Apple, who by the way is one of our top competitors. You’ll be all set if don’t make it here.”

He shook his head, “I’ve always wanted to be at Google.”

“Why?” She questioned, “Why is it so important for you to be at Google?”

“A bet.”

She blinked having not expected that. A feeling curled into her chest burning hot and hands twisted into fists. “A bet?” She asked incredulously lacing her tone. _All this is because of freaking bet?_ She asked herself disgustedly. _Who the hell does that? And he’s badmouthing Nick and Billy for being there._

He winced as if he could read her thoughts. “It’s not what you think.” He informed her hurriedly.

“Then tell me how it really is?” She wondered with a biting edge to her tone.

“I made with my dad when I was fifteen.” He started, pausing only when their food arrived. Giving the waitress a quick thank you, he continued, “I’ve been fascinated with computers ever since I touched one when I was five. My dad bought it for work; he was journalist for the New York Times.”

Maya, after setting her lap over her lap, took a bite of her food, sighing happily as a burst of flavor filled her mouth. After swallowing, she asked, “And your mom?”

“She’s an elementary school teacher. 3rd grade.” He told her. He grabbed his fork and looked down at his food. Despite him not being a big fan of mac and cheese, it did look really good. He speared some of the pasta and brought it to his mouth.

He chewed, processing the taste of it. He could feel Maya staring at him, waiting for him to react, but he gave nothing up.

“So?” She inquired after he swallowed.

He nodded his head, “Okay. It’s pretty good.”

“Ha! I told you.” She exclaimed happily causing him to chuckle.

“You said it would ruin all other mac and cheese for me.” He pointed out, “I didn’t say it did.”

She waved him off, “Same difference.” She said with a cheeky smile.

He rolled his eyes, going back to his food.

“So, how did this bet become to be?” She asked after taking another bit of her own dish.

“After that I tried to learn anything I could about computers and how they worked. Once I was older the software and internet caught my eye, and it got me thinking about how they worked.” He said, “In my freshman year of high school, I had this assignment for English class. We had to write a paper on where we see our self in ten years. All my classmates wrote how they were either going to be rich, famous, saving the world, or all three.”

“And you wrote that you would be at Google?”

He nodded, “There was something about the site, the simplicity of it. Just name, a search bar, and that I’m Feeling Lucky button; it felt like that’s where I had to be. I had to try and be a part of something big that was continuously growing.” His voice had an admired quality to it as he spoke. “As it developed e-mail accounts and maps and Drive and other apps and features, I just knew that I wanted to work there.”

“So, what? Your dad didn’t approve or something?” She wondered as she tried to figure out how the bet came to be.

“It’s not that he didn’t approve, it was more along the lines of him not thinking I would get hired.” He told her, “He had always told me to follow my own path and no one else. He knew that Google was where I really wanted to be, but he also knew that it was highly competitive and didn’t want me to be disappointed.” He shrugged, “He was a realist like that.” He paused, recalling the day, “I had just returned home from school and my dad had read that paper and told me his concerns and well I was fifteen year old kid, so I reacted badly.” He winced remembering his harsh words. “But my dad was all calm and told me that while it might be impossible it didn’t mean I could try.”

“And the bet was born?”

He nodded looking down at his bowl, half of the food was gone, and he didn’t even realize how hungry he had been. “I said that if I could get a job there, that not only would he get me an apartment, but that he would extremely proud that achieved my goal. Of course, I was only focusing on the apartment part and nothing else.”

“So, he must be pretty excited that you’re in the intern program then?”

He shook his head, “I wouldn’t know.” He said with a small shrug, “He died when I was eighteen.”

Maya took in a sharp breath, “Oh. Oh, Stuart I’m sorry.” She said kindly.

“It’s fine.” He spoke blandly, waving off her condolences before wincing at his tone and clearing his throat. “But I-uh-I thought it still go ahead with this. Not for the apartment, but because I want him to be proud of me.”

She covered his hand, much like how he did earlier, and gave it a gentle squeeze, “He would, Stuart. Just the fact that you made here is reason enough to be proud.” She told him honestly.

He nodded not saying anything else and she removed her hand.

They finished their meal in relative silence, only exchanging small random pieces of information about their day.

“So, what happen with Human Resources?” He asked suddenly after finishing off his meal.

She tensed, thinking back to the meeting. “We talked. I told them about his past behavior and the incident yesterday and that was it.” She said sharply and he realized that it was something she wasn’t ready to talk about.

Maya pulled her phone out, nearly wincing at the time. _“Shit.”_ She muttered.

“What?” Stuart asked worriedly, “Something happened?”

“No,” she shook her head, “I forgot to tell you that you have a team meeting at 5.”

“Okay and?” He wondered not seeing the problem.

“It’s almost 4:30.” She told him.

_“Damn.”_

She snorted softly, “My thoughts exactly.” She looked around for their waitress, quickly waving her down. “Could we please have the check?” She asked kindly.

Once the check was on the table, Stuart tried to take it, but Maya snatched it away from him.

“Come on, Maya. I’ve got it.” He insisted.

She shook her head, keeping the slip close to her as she grabbed her wallet. “No, I’ll get it. I practically kidnapped you. So, the least I could do is pay for lunch.”

“But-”

“No.”

“Can’t-”

“No.”

“Hones-”

_“No.”_

He gave up, holding his hands out in surrender. “Fine, but next time it’s one me.” He informed, not realizing what he was saying. She raised an eyebrow as the waitress, grabbed the check and her debit card.

“Next time, huh?” She teased gently making him flush once he processed his own words.

“No wait-I mean-I just-” He stuttered, cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

“I’d like that.” She cut off, giving him a shy smile.

He sighed in relief, a grin forming on his face.

_Take that, Trent Hatcher! Who says I can’t talk to girls?_

* * *

**Hour and a Half Later**   
**Team Lyle’s Shared Office**

Stuart rushed into the office where the others were waiting for him.

“Sorry! Sorry, I’m late. I know. I got,” he paused, mind flashing back to Maya and the way she smiled and laughed and actually listened to what he was saying, _“distracted.”_

Nick snorted loudly and the younger boy shot him a glare.

“What had you so distracted?” Neha asked, annoyance seeping from her tone.

_“More like who?”_ Nick muttered to Billy though everyone could hear him clearly.

Stuart blushed as Yo-Yo stared at him with an expression that almost screamed confusion, while Nick and Billy teased him relentlessly, since they knew the reason of him being late, and Neha was annoyed with the three of them.

Lyle though was staring down at him, nearly glaring as he tried to put two and two together. There was only one person Nick and Billy would be teasing Stuart about and that was Maya. He recalled the words Nick had said during their first team meeting.

_Looks like the pretty girl likes Stuart here._

“So, what did you want to talk about Lyle?” Stuart asked, hoping to get everyone to just stop _staring_ at him.

“The second challenge is coming up and I wanted to go over it with you guys.” Lyle said eventually, lessening the hard glint in his eye, though it showed up every time he looked over at the boy that his sister seemed smitten with.

They discussed the challenge, Neha and Lyle gushing over the fact that it was Harry Potter themed. They went over the rules for Nick and Billy, but they still seemed a little confused, but Stuart honestly couldn’t blame them this time as Quidditch was a little difficult to follow if you never read the books.

After about an hour, everyone left to get dinner and head back to their rooms for the night.

Stuart was the last to leave when Lyle called him back.

“What’s going on with you and my sister?” Lyle asked bluntly after Stuart let the door close.

The younger boy blinked having not expected the question.

“Uh-nothing?” He said uncertainly.

“Because it seems that you two have been spending some time together.” Lyle pointed out.

Stuart shook his head, “This was the first time we actually spent any time together.”

“Look Stuart, I’ll be frank with you.” He started, “I don’t like you. Especially since I know what you had said to Maya when you first met her on orientation.”

Stuart winced as he remembered his words, “And I was wrong about that and she’s aware.”

“Doesn’t matter. You insult my sister. You have no idea the hell she’s been through these past few years. But,” Lyle paused, thinking over his words carefully, “she seems to have grown fond of you and there’s a spark in her that I haven’t seen in a really long time since she’s met you.”

The younger boy looked over to Lyle giving him a searching look. “Is this the part where you tell that if I hurt her, you’ll kill me?”

Lyle shook his head, “No, but she’ll do it herself.”

“Lyle,” Stuart began taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, “I like your sister and I like getting to know her. I don’t know if something is going to come of it, but if it doesn’t then that will be her choice. I won’t pressure her into anything. I know she has a past and demons that she’s still working through and I respect that and her.” He shook his head trying to clear his muddled thoughts, “I would never intentionally hurt her, but I’m only human and I make mistakes, so I probably will at some point, but I will always try to make it up to her.”

Lyle was quiet for a long moment this time giving Stuart a hard stare as he processed the words. Stuart began to fidget nervously wondering if he screwed things up with Maya before they even really started.

“Okay.” He nodded.

Stuart let out a relieved breath, “Okay?”

“I love my sister Stuart. With our mom being our _mom_ , and our dad always away for business, plus they live at home in Boston, so Maya is pretty much all I have. She’s my best friend. I want to see her happy and as much as it pains me to say this, I think she could be happy with you. Whether,” he raised his voice slightly when Stuart started to speak, “your friends or in a relationship. Besides,” he shrugged, “having you in her life this pass month has been really good for her.”

Stuart looked at him curiously, “What do you mean?”

Lyle shook his head, “It’s not my place to tell. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.”

“Maybe someday.” Stuart repeated Maya’s words from earlier.

He left shortly after that. The conversation replaying over again in his head making him chuckle once he fully realized that he just got the big brother speech from Lyle Spaulding of all people.

On his way to his room, he bumped into Maya, who had the rest of her things and seemed to be heading towards Lyle’s office. He flushed, thankful that he got out of there before she could see them talking.

“Hey.” She greeted with a small smile making his heart skip a beat.

“Hey.” He echoed.

“You’re meeting just get done?” She asked.

He nodded, “Yeah, a little while ago. Lyle wanted to go over something’s with me.” He told her vaguely.

She studied him for a moment, trying to figure what he and her brother could have talked about, but got nothing from his face.

“Alright, well I’ll see you later than.”

“Bye.”

Stuart watched her walk away from him, his heart now pounding from the encounter. He let out a breath, wondering if it was going to feel like this from now on every time he talked to her.

He clenched his fists wishing he could talk to his dad.

_What would you do dad?_ He asked, sadly looking up at the sky.


End file.
